We are SHDO: Year One
by Scarlet Rosette
Summary: You've heard the stories of Beacon time and time again, but what about what happens at the other academies. Join four girls from Shade Academy as they try to survive the rigorous training, endless piles of homework, and the cafeteria food. (SYOC closed).
1. Prologue: Tale of the Three Wishes

A/N: Takes place three years before RWBY Vol. 1.

 **Prologue: Tale of the Three Wishes**

The world is engulfed in pure darkness; a blanket of shadows that swallows everything. And then, a single light shines from above. Underneath that light, a solitary book rests on a polished, hardwood table. The book was clearly old, tattered and worn from years of constant use; the cover was too faded to make out the title, the binding was ripped along its edges, and the pages were a murky shade of yellow. The book's cover slowly flips as if being turned by an invisible hand followed behind by several of the yellowing sheets. When the book ceased to turn its pages, the book was left open to a wide, and partially stained, map.

( **"This world – a hollow shell of what used to be, the only remainder of a history long forgotten by its people, whether by choice or by force we may never know – a Remnant of the past. It is a world where man and Faunus hide within the walls of their Kingdoms, training and learning the ways of combat to take the name Huntsman and face fruitless war against the creatures of Grimm, from which there shall be no winner. Humanity clings to its false peace and its hypocritical state of order while they train their children to fight their wars."** )

Suddenly, the light shifts to an eerie red glow; a wave of black, ooze-like substance crawls over the pages, engulfing the continents like a disease.

( **"But before the kingdoms, before the Huntsman and Grimm, before order – there was chaos."** )

The page turned to the scene of a bloody battle. Faceless men and women, armed with an assortment of weapons ranging from swords and shields to bows and arrows to spears and axes, all locked it deadly combat. Many bodies littered the rough terrain, most with some type of armament skewed through their chests, lying broken in pools of crimson. Those that were still standing were dripping in red, whether their own or another's.

( **"The world was engulfed in constant war – friend against friend, brother against brother, father against son – it was a cycle of death and destruction with no end in sight. And from the unending violence, a great darkness grew that threatened to swallow the world, forcing many to flee from their homelands in search of refugee. That is where the story begins – with three travelers fleeing the darkness."** )

The page turned again, this time showing a faceless man donned in armor and carrying a sword and shield; upon the shield's face were two golden crescents. The man stood tall in the picture with his swords raised and his shield at his side like the heroic knight from fairy tales. But in the next page, it showed the man running away, dropping his sword and shield on the ground, as another bloody battle took place in the background.

( **"The first traveler was a dreamer. As a child, he idolized the knights that often visited his small village, sharing tales of adventure and valor. It was the knights that inspired the dreamer to join their ranks, seeking to share in their fame and glory. But upon his first venture onto the battlefield, when the first blood was drawn, the man bore his cowardice and fled, forsaking his comrades to their deaths. Fearing the consequences of his actions, the first traveler fled to the farthest corners of the world.** ")

The page turned again, this time of another faceless man standing in front of a large crowd of people with a banner hanging behind him; the emblem upon it was obscured by his body. The man had his hand raised to the air, mouth open to shout, and the crowd had raised their fists as well; the man seemed to be leading some type of shady organization. But it was in the next page that the same man was fleeing just as the first traveler did, looking over his shoulder with fright as fires raged at the city in the distance.

( **"The second traveler was an ambitious man. From humble beginnings, the man rose to power very quickly and rallied the people behind him, making him one of the most powerful men in the land. But still, it was not enough. The man wanted more – he wanted a kingdom to call his own. So the ambitious man staged a coup against the kingdom's leadership in a ruthless attempt to overthrow the monarchy. But the kingdom's armies were too powerful and trampled over the man's soldiers. Knowing his defeat, the second traveler fled to the farthest corners of the world.** )

The page that followed showed a small, harmless looking girl, a hood over her face and her hands thrown up in the air with glee. All around her, men, women, children danced around the roaring flames of the bonfire, dressed in festive masks and costumes, dining and drinking until their hearts – and stomachs – were content. The picture overflowed with happiness. But in the next page, all joy drained from the hooded girl's face as she ran as fast as her tiny legs could carry her; a shapeless shadow with many red eyes snapping at her heel.

( **"The third traveler was a child – a small, honest soul filled with delight. She lived in a small village hidden in an untouched vale, far away from the rages of war where every day she would bring smiles to her mother, her father, and her neighbors and everyone loved her in return. She was a brilliant light shining within the darkness. But where there is light, there will always be a darkness waiting in the wings. And one night, without warning, the darkness fell over the meager village, devouring all without remorse. It was only out of the kindness of her people's hearts the he child escaped a similar fate. Without a place to call home and the darkness ever present, the third traveler fled to the farthest corners of the world."** )

The next couple of pages depicted of the three travelers migranting through a desert-like terrain, each on a separate path; the harsh arid winds cutting against their skin and the unforgiving sun beating down on them from above.

( **"The days that would follow would become some of the most perilous and soul-crush moments they would ever experience. Alone and friendless without homes to return to, the Three Travelers could only move forward, surviving only on what little they could carry with them. What none of them realized was that though they walked different roads, the hand of fate would soon intervene. And after three days of traveler, famished and thirsting, the Three Traveler feared that they would soon be knocking on death's door."** )

The next page showed the three travelers standing together at the top of a sand dune; the first traveler was pointing to something at the bottom of the dune that gave the second and third traveler a delightful shock. And on the page next to it, there was an ink water painting of a small crop of plant-life that surrounded a small lake of water. The trees were tall with long foliage that produced an assortment of fruit and the clear-blue pond sparkled like it was made of diamonds.

( **"And then a miracle! An oasis in the midst of the unforgiving wilderness. They were saved."** )

In the next page, the Three Travelers were in the oasis, running about with joy. The first traveler cupped his hands in the lake, taking as much water in them as he could carry, and slurped the liquid down as if it were fine ale. The second traveler ran between the tree, picking off the fruit and piling it into his arm greedily before taking refuge under the shade of the trees. But the third traveler jumped into the lake, shouting for joy as she submerged beneath the water. He paddled around, enjoying the feeling of the water against her skin, when she saw something glinting at the bottom.

( **"But then the third traveler noticed something peculiar buried in the bed of the oasis."** )

The third traveler swam down, knocked the rocks out of the way, and picked up the object before swimming to the surface. Once she breached, she called the other two travelers and the three of them gathered around, staring at the item in curiosity.

( **"It was a crystal shaped like the stars in the night sky. Housed within the crystal was a swirling white mist, both beautiful and mysterious. This was a strangely unique piece that the travelers had never seen before and it left them wondering what to do with it. And then, to their surprise, the mist spoke to them."** )

( **"Help me! I have trapped inside this crystal for so long and I long to walk in the light once more! Please, set me free!"** )

(" **The first and second travelers hesitated to answer the request. They did not know who or what the mist was, nor if it was dangerous. But the third traveler, young and innocent, lifted the crystal and smashed on the ground without hesitation"** )

The next page showed the Three Travelers stepped back in awe as a cloud of smoke arose from the shattered remains of the crystal star. When the smoke dissipated, a faceless woman with shocking-white hair appeared, floating many inches off the ground and look down upon the traveler with a wide smile.

( **"Thank you for freeing me from my undeserved prisoner, said the strange spirit. In gratitude for what you have done for me, I shall grant each of you one wish. Name what it is that your heart desires and it shall be yours. The Three Travelers were overwhelmed with interest. Whatever they desire that be granted unto them; the temptation was too great to resist."** )

The next page was shared between the spirit and the first traveler.

( **"The first traveler approached the spirit and spoke: O' Great Spirit, what I desire is fame and glory befitting a hero, but I have great fear of dying. My wish is to forever be free of Death's cold embrace. The spirit heard the man's wish and spoke: Then by my word, your soul shall never part from the world. Death will search, but never find you until the end of time."** )

The next page was shared between the spirit and the second traveler.

( **"The second traveler approached the spirit and spoke: O' Great Spirit, what I desire is a kingdom of my own, but I have not the strength to take it. My wish is for an army that will stand unmatched against any other. The spirit heard the man's wish and spoke: Then by my word, your army shall never know fear or weakness. The souls of your fallen enemies will rise and bend to your will."** )

The next page was shared between the spirit and the third traveler.

( **"The third traveler approached the spirit and spoke: O' Great Spirit, what I desire is not glory or property, but the power to save my beloved village that has been devoured by darkness. My wish is the strength to protect those whom I cherish dearly. The spirit was moved by the girl's selfless words and spoke: Then by my word, you shall be blessed with the power to smite the darkness. All those who fall under your gaze shall be swathed in the warmth of your light."** )

In the following page, the white-haired spirit floated away, waving a farewell to the three travelers as they separated.

( **"With her promise fulfilled, the spirit bid the travelers well wishes and disappeared into the endless blue skies. The Three Traveler, now blessed by the spirit's wishes, bid a final farewell to each other and parted way, returning to the homes that they had fled."** )

The page that came next showed the first warrior standing tall and proud at the head of an army, radiating with power as he charged headlong into the enemy force, no longer bound by his fear of death. But in the page next to it, it showed the man at a severally old age too weak to stand or lift his sword; his hair all but gone, his gums empty and gone, and his skin clinging to his bones. The spirit appeared next to him, looking down upon the decrepit warrior in disappointment.

(" **The first traveler returned to his homeland a legend – a knight that would wage hundreds of battles against the most impossible odds and always return alive. He became famous as the immortal knight. But as time went on, the traveler began to notice that his health deteriorating as the years passed until the day came when he could no longer bear to fight anymore. The spirit that appeared to him many years ago returned to him one night and the spirit spoke.** ")

( **"For years you have cowered behind your gift, the spirit said, while brave men have perished around you for they fought for those other than themselves. By my word, you shall come to suffer this unbearable fate that you have created for yourself time and time again, never knowing the comfort of death."** )

(" **The first traveler passed away with a final, rattling breath to start the cycle anew."** )

Turning to the next page, it showed the second traveler sitting on a grand throne, draped in the finest coats and jewelry and surrounded by the finest treasures, all while guarded by spectral-white beings. However, the page directly next to it showed the second traveler asleep in his bed, unaware of the young man standing over him with a jagged blade in his hand poised over the traveler's heart. The spirit appeared behind the young assassin, looking down at the soon-to-be-dead man in disappointment.

( **"The second traveler returned to his homeland a conqueror – from the remains of his fallen enemies, he amassed an army that left his enemies devastated. He usurped the kingdom and ruled the lands with sharp tongue and an iron fist. But one day, the conqueror's own son slipped into his father's chamber in the dead of night, seeking to kill his father and take the throne. The spirit that appeared to him many years ago returned to him that night and the spirit spoke."** )

( **"You were blessed with good fortune and many riches, the spirit said, but all the riches of the world would not sate your greed nor fill you the void in your soul. By my word, you shall be consumed by the greed that compelled you, as will your children, trapped in a cycle of betrayal written in the blood of your kin."** )

(" **The second traveler passed away under the blade of his own greedy son."** )

When the pages turned again, it showed of the little girl standing on a mountaintop facing the shadows that had swallowed her village. The little girl raised her hands and a brilliant light shined forth; the shadows retreated in agony and the villagers shouted for joy of their lost daughter's return. And on the page next to it, it depicted the young girl now an elderly woman on her death bed, surrounded by many people and smiling just as brightly as she had in childhood. The spirit appeared nearly at the elderly woman's side, holding her frail hand as a single tear ran down her cheek.

( **"The third traveler returned to her homeland a savior – with the gift granted unto her by the spirit, the child bravely faced the darkness and forced it back to the depths from whence it came. When tale spread of a child that could keep the darkness at bay, men and women braved the journey to the vale seeking refuge and the child welcomed them in open arms. As the years passed and the child grew older, the small village in the vale transformed into a sanctuary where all were welcomed, and the third travel their Beacon of hope."** )

( **"But time moved on and the third traveler could feel her life reaching its end. But she did not despair, finding contentment in what she had accomplished in her short life and the love she shared for her friends, her neighbors, and her children. On her final day, surrounded by her loved ones, the spirit that appeared to him many years ago returned, filled with sadness, and spoke."** )

( **"Many years ago, I imparted you with a great and powerful gift, but never once did you give into its temptation. You did not seek glory, nor did you act out of personal gain; you never asked for thanks, nor did you want it. And in this dark and trying time, never once did you give up on hope, instead selflessly choosing to share this hope with others. By my word, I will ensure that this hope that you have given to the world will never die out. By my word, your children shall bless this world with their light, just as their mother in ages past.** )

( **"The woman smiled as she always had, uttering a soft world of thanks to the spirit, before passing away peacefully in her sleep.")**

( **"This story has been passed down for thousands of years; spoken by word from father to son and from mother to daughter. No one remembers how the story came to be, nor do they remember who it was that first passed it along. To most, it is merely a story mean to teach a type of lesson: 'Be careful what you wish for' or 'Do good things and good things shall come I return'.** )

A white gloved hand emerged from the shadow, gently taking hold of the book's back cover and folding it shut.

( **"But those who learn from history know otherwise….The three travelers…the three wishes…. The hands of fate are once again at work. Who will emerge the victor when all is said and done…the light…or the darkness? I look forward to finding out….)**

* * *

 **Okay, so that's the first official chapter of my original story – just a sort of background that sets up the long term plot of the story and a referencing point you can go back to for future chapters. I don't really have much to say without spoiling too much, but I hope the story has at least interested you enough to continue reading and maybe even leave a review with your opinion and critique (a person can't learn to be better without knowing what she is doing wrong first).**

 **But on the topic most of you probably came here for, I am looking for OCs to use for two teams at Shade Academy: Team MYNT (Mint) and Team GRNT (Granite). Keep in mind that Team MYNT will be a year about SHDO, NDGO, and GRNT and will consist of all males when you make the characters. I would also like for the leader of Team MYNT to act as sort of a mentor to Stella, so you'll have a better chance of being picked if you keep that in mind. As for Team GRNT, I have no requirements, but try to make them as unique as possible – I've seen too many people trying to pass off generic type characters.**

 **Here's the fill out sheet for anyone interested:**

Name:

Age:

Nickname:

Gender:

Species:

Sexuality:

Kingdom of Birth:

Background:

Family:

Personality: (Do not want to see any copy-paste of RWBY characters)

Physical Appearance: (Be very descriptive, nothing generic.)

Clothing:

Nightwear:

Weapon:

Semblance: (Nothing over-the-top or anything OP)

Fighting Style: (Again, be very descriptive.)

Miscellaneous:

 **Winning characters will be announced at the end of the first chapter. You are free to send via review of PM. So until next time, please read and review.**


	2. Stella Stratos

**A/N: Takes place three years before RWBY Vol. 1.**

 **A/N 2: Make absolutely certain you read the trailers before starting.**

 **Vol 1, Episode 1: Stella Stratos**

Night had fallen over the bustle Shade City; the broken fragments of shattered moon above shined its mysterious radiance through the sparse cloud cover. Though it was moving close to the twelfth hour, hundreds of tired-looking men and woman were bustled through the streets, mumbling irritable of working late into the night. It seemed unreasonable, but that was the way it worked in Vacuo. Being the economically weakest kingdom in Remnant required everyone to work twice as hard to keep the country stable, which was not easy when the kingdom's only resource are the amount of minerals found in the desert region. If not for companies like the Remnant Ore Distribution Company for being interested in their resources, there is no doubt the kingdom would have collapsed upon itself decades ago.

But while most people worked hard to keep themselves afloat in economic disparity, there were men like Roman Torchwick who preferred the easy way out.

Torchwick always thought of himself more as a cunning businessman than a petty ne'er-do-well – he even dressed to match his self-image with his fancy white suit and tilted bowler hat. Yet there were times, he will admit to himself, when he might as well be a cliché cartoon gangster with those horrendous handlebar mustaches, like hosting a secret illegal meeting in a storage warehouse. Not only was it in the most desolated parts of the city, but the warehouse had been stacked with crates holding a mountain's worth of natural Vacuo minerals. Seriously, this place was just begging to be raided. Unfortunately, it wasn't his choice – his correspondent was very clear he wouldn't make the deal anywhere else.

This is why he hates working with amateurs.

The clever criminal (businessman, sorry) whipped out one of his favorite cigars from his coat pocket, brought it to his lips, and sparked his personalized lighter when the warehouse door flew open with a clatter. Five men dressed in standard White Fang foot soldier uniforms marched purposely inside the warehouse; the ones in back shut the door just as noisily as they entered; Roman resisted the urge to slap his beautiful face in annoyance. When they approached him from across the room, Roman only just noticed a sixth person among the group of flea-bitten animals. They were so small that Torchwick had nearly missed them; they barely came up to his chest. A rope was tried around their neck, which Torchwick supposed was the White Fang's form of irony, and their face was covered in a burlap sack.

With an annoyed sigh, Torchwick clicked the lighter shut and stowed the cigar in his pocket; he'll have time for that later. With a confident swagger in his step, the shrew businessman approached the White Fang soldiers and said:

"Well, well, if it isn't my favorite group of literal lapdogs," said Torchwick tauntingly; the soldier growled angrily. "Now, now, heel, boys. You wouldn't want your owners tugging at your leashes if you upset them, right? What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? Oh, I have so many more animal jokes I want to make, but I'm not sure I have the time."

"You son of a…. Just show us already," growled the White Fang soldier.

"Ooh, Fido wants a treat – hey, I do have one more," said Torchwick mockingly.

The smartly dressed criminal bent over and reached for something hidden behind one of the crates. When he came back up, he hefted a finely-polished silver suitcase on top of the crate and the White Fang moved closer for a better look. Torchwick snapped the latches off and opened the case slowly for that dramatic effect. The White Fang hummed in approval. One of the soldiers reached for the contents, but Torchwick snapped the case shut, nearly taking off his finger.

"Uh-uh-uh, hands off the merchandise," said Torchwick, wagging a single finger. "I'll have to know that procuring this…very rare item wasn't easy. I had to call in a more than half of some old favors I'm owed to sneak this out of Beacon and it cost quite a pretty penny to get it shipped all the way from Vale. Long story short, I had to give up a lot to make this deal happen, so it better be worth it."

The White Fang soldier hummed disdainfully, but nonetheless gestured over his shoulder. The soldier holding the rope tugged it roughly, forcing the bound captive to step forward until they were standing in front of Torchwick. The smooth criminal whipped the sack off their face in a second. Soon he was looking down on a young girl with an odd mixture of half-brown, half-pink hair accented with white streaks. Her eyes were the most fascinating part about her in Torchwick's opinion: her right eye was bright-pink while the opposite was a chocolate-brown.

Torchwick was grinning like a little boy opening presents. He grasped the young girl by the chin – the girl did not voice any objections – and tilted her head from side to side, getting a better look at his prize. Torchwick was very satisfied, stepping back to give her a once over, the smarmy grin never leaving his face.

"Ooh, she's perfect," said Torchwick excitedly. "And she even has that new lackey smell. And that whole ice cream thing she's got going with the hair and everything – love it. I think I'll call her…Neo. You like that Neo?" – Neo stared blankly at Torchwick – "Of course she does. Just look at that face. I think you and I are going to be the best of friends, Neo," he added, throwing his arm around her shoulder and shaking her playfully.

"You got what you wanted," said the White Fang soldier impatiently. "Now hand over the goods like you promised."

"The goods?" Torchwick repeated, snorting stiffly. "What? The only let you watch old timey mafia film in the pound? Okay, okay, no need to get your tails all bunched up," he added to the White Fang's angry sneers. He picked up the case and offered to them. "You can just go ahead and take it; not like I need it for anything. Come to think of it, what would a bunch of animal terrorists want with a dusty old thing, anyway?"

"You're not being paid to ask questions," said the White Fang soldier.

"Man, you are just full of clichés, aren't you?" said Torchwick tauntingly. "Well, it's not like I can complain – hey, did hear that?"

Torchwick, Neo, and the White Fang soldiers stood still and listened. They could hear it well enough – a loud, teeth grinding _creak_ coming from above their heads. The collection of criminals leaned back and turned their eyes to the ceiling just as one of the rafters gave out with a loud _snap_! Torchwick and Neo took a casual step back as a shadow fell to the ground and crashed into the crate they had been standing next to, throwing chunks of raw iron ore every which way. The White Fang soldiers looked at each other in surprise before leaning forward.

Half-buried in the pile of Vacuo minerals was a very short girl – she could easily be mistaken for a primary school child – with the lightly tanned skin of a natural Vacuo civilian and midnight-blue hair tied up in a pair of short, choppy pigtails with her fringes over her sky-blue eyes. She wore a midnight-blue bomber jacket with a large white star stamped on the back and a matching emblem on her lighter-blue shirt. Her hands were covered by a pair of midnight-blue fingerless gloves with the same emblems stamped on the back and a black choker on her with a blue crystal dangling from the metal ring. Her dark-blue shorts were held up by a pair of intersecting leather belts, and underneath were light-and-dark blue striped leggings that reach down to her midnight-blue boots.

He short-sided girl coughed up a cloud of black smoke, beating a fist against her chest to force the dirty air out. With a little bit of struggling, she pulled herself out from under the pile and pulled herself to her feet, brushing the black smudges that littered her clothes.

"Augh…you'd think they'd have a stronger support system – I don't exactly weight that much…do I?" said Stella, more to herself than anyone else. "Nah, of course I don't. It's totally the infrastructure fault. Someone seriously need…to...report…."

Her voice slowly died off near the end of her complaint as she looked around herself, only just realizing the position she had placed herself in. To her left, five men dressed in White Fang fatigues staring at the short girl with their jaws dropped in shock and awe. To her right, Roman didn't look as surprised as the White Fang, but his eyebrow was arched high enough to disappear into his hairline; Neo remained expressionless as ever. Her were snapping back and forth between the two sides, straightening herself very, very slowly.

An awkward pause of silence was shared between the group…and then Stella said:

"Hey, this isn't McWendy King," said Stella theatrically; the villains nearly facefaulted. "Maybe I should have taken that left turn on Main Road. Sorry for interrupting your super-secret meeting, everybody. I'll just get out of your way."

Stella marched mechanically toward the door. One of the White Fang soldiers turned and grabbed her by the shoulder.

"You're not going anywhere, human," snarled the White Fang soldier. "You saw too much, and now you're going to be sleeping with the fishes."

"Sleeping with the – can you not hear yourselves?" said Torchwick, sighing in annoyance. "This is why I don't like working with animals."

The five soldiers of the White Fang moved in a circle around Stella as three of them drew the swords that were strapped to their belts and the remaining two pulled out rifles over their shoulders. Their weapons weren't particularly interesting or powerful, Stella noted; fairly standard armaments most used by starting Huntsman. The short girl grinned confidentially as she cracked her knuckles in an intimidating fashion. She rolled up the sleeves of her jacket and showed off the metallic bracelets with a row of lights on each wrist. She raised her hand with her palm facing the far-side wall.

"Before we get started," said Stella confidently, "is there anyone who'd like to get out?"

The White Fang soldier in front charged at Stella with an overexaggerated battle cry (Torchwick was shaking his head off to the side). At the same time, the lights on Stella's bracelet flashed black and an invisible pulse rippled from the jewelry. All of a sudden, the far side wall exploded and a blur of black zoomed across the warehouse, knocking against one of the goon's head to knock him flat on his face, and into Stella's hand. The young archaeologist-to-be swung around and slammed the object underneath the attacking soldier's chin, sending him flying overhead and crash landing into a pile of crate, burying him underneath a mixture of zinc and limestone.

The other henchmen took a hesitant step backward as Stella turned her weapon on them. An arm cannon made from a dark metal that stretched two-thirds the length of her body with six narrow chambers running down the length on the revolving cylinder, each a different color. The two White Fang soldiers with rifles looked down at their own weapons and then back to Stella's. They were remarkably inadequate.

"No matter what anybody says, size does matter," said Stella teasingly. The White Fang went slack jawed and Torchwick snorted behind his hand. It took Stella a whole ten seconds before she realized what she said and her face turned a bright shade of red. "N-n-no, that's not what I meant! I meant the gun! The gun! That's totally what I meant! I-I wasn't talking about…thingies…."

"Thingies?" snort Torchwick, now exploding into full-blown laughter. "Oh my Oum, this is rich. What're you, twelve?"

"I'm seventeen, for your information!" snapped Stella, stomping her foot angrily.

"Really?" asked Torchwick in genuine curiosity. "Huh, you could never tell. You're so tiny and not really showing a whole lot upstairs."

The short, flat-chested teenager that looked like a little girl howled furiously the moment Torchwick's word left his lip. A raging fire burned in her eyes and her nocturnal-blue aura flared dangerously. She opened her mouth and her shrill screams was so powerful that the ceiling shook; Torchwick cringed while plugging his ears with his fingers.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING A FLEA SO TINY DOGS WOULDN'T NOTICE IT IF IT WAS BITING OR THAT MY BOOBS ARE SO FLAT YOU COULD WASH CLOTHES ON THEM?!"

"That's not even close to what I was saying," grimaced Torchwick, looking to the White Fang soldiers. "Hey, what're you mutts good for? Get rid of her, or the deal's off."

They looked like they'd much rather get rid of Torchwick instead, but the smooth criminal/businessman held the silver briefcase in view and the White Fang quickly turned on Stella. Whatever was inside was obviously very important.

The two White Fang goons with sword rushed headlong at Stella, but the archaeologist-in-training trained Void Gear on them and took a shot. The sword-wielding Faunus easily sidestepped the bullet and it smashed on the floor between them. Before the Faunus soldiers could advance any further, a powerful current of air suddenly blew up from the space where the bullet hit and sent the two henchmen flying toward the ceiling, slamming against the roof, and falling back down to the concrete floor. As the two started to get up, Stella's cannon turned until the white chamber was facing up and fired off two shots to each goon. The White Fang soldiers only had time to react in a panic before the bullets smashed against their chests and shells of ice formed around them, freezing them in motion.

Stella heard the clicking of their guns and turned around toward the remaining two henchmen that had finished loading their guns and opened on her. The short Huntress quickly pulled her cannon up to be parallel with her body and deflected the bullets off Void Gear's metal casing. The White Fang soldiers slowly marched forward while their guns were still in rapid fire and Stella took slow steps away from them. She grimaced as one of their bullets slipped through and cut her cheek – the wound sewed itself together seamlessly in under a second. All the while, Stella noticed that Torchwick was leaning back casually against the crate, dangling the briefcase enticingly on his fingers. That cocky son of a Grimm, Stella thought.

Void Gear's cylinder turned again so that the brown chamber was facing up. Suddenly, Stella throws herself sideways out of the bullet hailstorm and, while in midair, turns her cannon on one of the White Fang soldiers before taking the shot. The bullet hit the ground in front of the Faunus goon and a pillar of stone rose diagonally from the floor, hitting the henchman in the chest and sending him flying through the air. He smacked off the warehouse wall, fell forward, and somehow ended up face down in the only empty oil drum in the entire building. The Faunus's legs were still kicking in the air; Stella shot another Earth-Dust round and a column of rock rose up, hitting the side of the barrel like a gong. The White Fang goon stiffened briefly before going slack.

Stella turned on the last White Fang goon as Void Gear's cylinder rotated again (the yellow chamber was on top). The Faunus henchman was still holding his rifle, albeit rather shakily, to which Stella smirked confidently and raised her own weapon. She could already see the wheels turning in the White Fang's head, and just as she predicted, the Faunus dropped his rifle and started making a run for the exit. Stella pulled the trigger before he could get two steps in and the bullet hit in square between his shoulders. The goon seized up and babbled incoherently as the electric current traveled up and down his spine; smoke was wafting off of him. With a delirious groan, the White Fang soldier fell forward, directly at Torchwick's feet.

Stella smoothly turned Void Gear to Torchwick as the revolver stopped at the red chamber. Despite the number of battered and bruised bodies lying around him, Torchwick was calm and poised; he casually lit one of his cigars and exhales a large puff of smoke. Neo, of course, was still as a statue, betraying no sign of thought or expression. Looking down at his feet, Torchwick carelessly kicked the Faunus to turn him over on his back, clicking his tongue disapprovingly.

"Bad, bad girl," said Torchwick teasingly. "Don't you know animal abuse is against the law?"

"You're one to talk about breaking the law, Torchwick," said Stella; Torchwick raised a curious brow. "Yeah, that's right, I know who you are. Roman Torchwick, a criminal wanted in both Vacuo and Vale for multiple counts of thief, possession of stolen goods, and selling stolen good. I heard a rumor that you've been stealing recently discovered artifacts around the kingdom and selling them off to the highest bidder. Whoever takes claim for their discovery is bound to become very famous and very rich. You're taking advantage of that aren't you? Letting them make their fortune and taking your cut of the profit."

"Well, aren't you a smart little girl," said Torchwick, smirking. "You wouldn't think that such a pathetically poor kingdom like this would be a hidden treasure trove."

"The deserts of Vacuo are the last undiscovered lands in Remnant," said Stella. "There is thousands of years' worth of history buried underneath the sands."

"And thousands' of years' worth of money to be making," said Torchwick; Stella sneered. "Now, now, don't make that face. It's strictly business. You know how that works, right?"

"Men like you disgust me," said Stella, gnashing her teeth. "If it isn't a get-rich-quick scheme, or about taking something valuable so no one else can have it. Those artifacts belong to the world, not to one person."

"Well, I never did learn to share my toys," said Torchwick. He pulled back his sleeve and checked his watch. "As much as I'd love to spend time talking ethics with you, shorty, I'm a very busy man. So this is the part where I bid you adieu."

"Who are you calling so small that she's smaller than an atom?!" screeched Stella.

Torchwick honestly didn't know how to respond to the statement. He pointed the end of his cane at Stella and the base raised itself, creating a reticle and uncovering the muzzle of the hidden gun. The archaeologist-in-training yelped as a flare of fire burst from the end of Torchwick's cane and reactively shot a bullet of red Dust at the same time. The two shots collided halfway, creating an explosion that tossed Stella off her feet and onto her back. Stella groaned as she sat up, rubbing the throbbing muscles in her shoulder, when she heard a loud creak coming off from the other side of the warehouse. She only saw the heel of Torchwick's overly polished shoes before the door slammed shut behind him; Stella scrambled to her feet and chased after them.

Stella kicked the door open with a reverberating _bang_ , dashed out in the middle of the street, and napped her head left and right – there was no sign of them anywhere. Just as she started to chastise herself for letting them get away, she heard the familiar roar of jet engines and turned back to the warehouse with her focus aimed on the roof. A Bullhead came into view over the edge as it began its ascension. Torchwick was leaning out the open side door with Neo stiffly at his side, waving the silver case tauntingly.

"It's been fun, short stuff!" shouted Torchwick. "But my ride's here and it's a long trip back to Vale!"

"You're not getting away!" yelled Stella.

She raised Void Gear to the Bullhead as the revolver stopped with the Ice Dust chamber in the top slot and shot off a bullet at the vehicle. Torchwick shouted something Stella couldn't hear and the Bullhead turned sideways at the last second. Instead of hitting Torchwick, the ice shot smashed against the side of the Bullhead near the cockpit and the entire aircraft rattled violently. Torchwick managed to hold on to the door and stop himself from fall out, but he forgot his grip on the briefcase and watched it fall back to the streets.

"Damn it!" shouted Torchwick, slamming his fist into the side of the aircraft. He quickly ducked as Stella launched another shot at his head. "You know what, forget it! I got what I wanted! She can keep the piece of scrap! Get us out of here!" he called to the pilot.

Stella reloaded Void Gear and aimed the cannon for another shot, but the Bullhead – along with Torchwick and his newly acquired lackey – were already flying over the Shade City skyline and out into the open desert. The short Huntress grimaced as she lowered her cannon. They got away, Stella chastised herself. Well, she thought as she turned around and noticed the case just a few short feet away, at least it wasn't a total loss. She did prevent Torchwick from running off with a piece of Vacuo treasure, so that was something.

She walked over, picked up the case delicately, and flipped the latches off.

"Now let's see what valuable artifact he was trying to pilfer this time," muttered Stella as she opened the case. Almost immediately, her jaw dropped and her eyes bugged out when she saw what was inside. "This…this is a…."

* * *

"A book?" repeated Nebula, blinking in almost cartoonish way. "You're seriously saying you had to fight off five White Fang grunts and a thief from Vale…for a book?"

"Yeah, I don't get it either," said Stella, shaking her head.

It was the day after her confrontation with Torchwick and the White Fang when Stella met up with her childhood friend, Nebula Violette, at the Shade City Railway Station. The two of them had decided to head to head to the station early that day because they wanted to beat traffic, and it was a good thing they did, because by the time they arrived, nearly half the platform had been taken over. Most of the people that arrived this morning were around Stella and Nebula's age; some of the younger commuters were pacing around and talking excitedly with newcomers while the older people were just looking for a place to relax and wait for the train to arrive. More people just started flooding in as time went by, some of them stranger than others – Stella saw a blonde boy jumping on benches rocking out on an electric guitar and a gray-haired guy the size of the mountain!

Stella sighed deeply from all the noise – her head was still hurting from last night – and looked to her best friend, hoping to occupy her attention. Nebula was lean and stood a full head above Stella (something Nebula will never let her forget) with short indigo hair swept on the left side. She wore a high-necked, tight-fitting gray shirt, along with a long, light blue coat, a leather bandolier with a shoulder pad on the right, and gray pants matched with dark gray boots. Nebula complained earlier that her appearance made her look like a boy, but Stella refuted and said it made her look cute (Nebula went on for an hour after that teasing that Stella was hitting on her, which the short girl stuttered an embarrassed denial).

"Is the book at least worth something?" asked Nebula. "Is it a secret book of ancient battle tactics, or a hidden journal with a clue to a buried treasure?"

"No, it's just a book of fairy tales," said Stella. "Here, let me show you."

She crouched down and unzipped her traveling bag that she had brought with her, dug through the mess of clothes and other miscellaneous, and pulled out the book in question. The age of the tome was not in doubt – the book must have been decades old and had been used extensively. The cover was too faded to make out the title, the binding was ripped along its edges, and the pages were a murky shade of yellow. Stella opened the book slowly, almost afraid it might turn to dust in her touch, and started flipping through the pages with Nebula hanging over her shoulder.

" _The Shallow Sea, the Tale of the Three Wishes, the Girl in the Tower, the Four Season_ – they're all here," Stella recounted. "Every fairy tale from since the Great War is written in here; the same stories that our parents used to read to use when we were kids. Can't figure out what the White Fang would want with a book of make-believe stories."

"Maybe there's a secret message written in the pages?" said Nebula, shrugging cluelessly.

"Tried that," said Stella. "And I had dad look at it from cover to cover under every light in the spectrum; infrared, ultraviolet, x-ray, and even gamma. It's just an ordinary book, except for one part. This is a first edition copy of the book, meaning that this copy dates back to the first set of prints of the book. According to my dad, the first run of the stories took place during the Great War, and that makes this book over eighty years old. If anyone were to sell this to a collector, they could make billions of Liens."

"So…what, the White Fang are looking for a payday?" asked Nebula with a raised brow. "I guess even terrorist organizations need money."

"I seriously doubt anyone in the White Fang is smart enough to know the value," argued Stella. "Even Torchwick didn't know what the thing was worth, and he's the type of guy who always looks to make a huge profit. No, they wanted this for something else. I just can't figure out what it is."

" **Train now arriving for Shade Academy! Please stand behind the yellow line and wait for the train to come to a complete stop before boarding!"**

Stella and Nebula shot up at the intercom announcement and looked around as a smooth, silver train started pulling up through the tunnel, coming to a stop with a hiss of the engines. Everyone started crowding around the train; Stella closed the story book and stuffed it back into her bag before she and Nebula joined the pack. When doors opened on either side, everyone was in a rush to get in and be the first to claim the bench seats, because no one wanted to stand the entire three hour trip. Predictably, there was a massive pile-up at the doors. It was one of the few times that Stella was glad to be so short; she easily slipped through the crowd and claimed the first open bench seat while saving one for Nebula – she grinned at the angry looks the other passengers were shooting her.

"Thanks for the save," said Nebula when she joined Stella four minutes later. "Guess being tiny has its advantages."

"I'm not tiny," Stella pouted. "Everybody else is just too damn high."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, runt," said Nebula teasingly; the vein on Stella's skull was throbbing. "Putting the White Fang and Torchwick aside, you should feel proud of yourself. You took on your very first group of bad guys, and now we're headed to Shade Academy to become real Huntsmen. This is a good day for both of us."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Stella, leaning back in her seat. "I'll worry about the White Fang later. For now, I just want to enjoy this. Shade Academy…the first day of the rest of our lives."

The woman on the intercom gave the final warning as the train doors closed and the engine hissed up front. The wheels of the screeched against the rail and initial take off was a little bumpy – Stella had the displeasure of landing in a fashionably dressed boy's lap and having to listen to him make remarks on her state of dress. The train started picking up speed as they exited the tunnel and exited into the open desert, heading north from the city. And as Stella gazed out into the rolling fields of sand, he couldn't fight back the excitement welling up in her chest.

She was going to Shade Academy!

* * *

 **And that brings about the conclusion of the first actual chapter of We are SHDO. Not exactly jammed back with action – it's a bunch of White Fang, they're not exactly the most challenging opponents. And, of course, Torchwick got away. Enjoy his appearance while you can, because I sincerely doubt he'll be making another appearance in this story again; he was just around to start everything off and make parallels with another event I'm sure everyone is familiar with.**

 **The next chapter takes place at Shade Academy and the introduction of most of the cast. Speaking of which, here are the final results from the OC submissions:**

 **Team MYNT (Mikaela Midori, Yun Gainsborough, Ciaran Nox, Thistle Tundra)**

 **Team GRNT (Grayson Stone, Rory Al, Nila Wright, Tawny Birch)**

 **If your character didn't make it, don't fret. You will have another chance when the Vytal Festival Tournament takes place. When the time comes around, I will be looking for whole teams (yes, four members each), and people to fill the three other spots of Team WNTR leader by Winter Schnee, whom I imagine would be in her fourth and final year at this time. And if you have any other characters like teachers of regular huntsman you would like to submit, feel free to send a form and I'll see if I can use them at some point.**

 **And my tangent has gone on long enough, so until next time, please read and review.**


	3. First Impressions

**A/N: Takes place three years before RWBY Vol. 1.**

 **A/N 2: Make absolutely certain you read the trailers before starting.**

 **Vol 1, Episode 2: First Impressions**

The train was cramped with people trying to push each other out of the way, and the heat from the sun coming through the windows was only making them more irritable. While the people who had grown up in the desert like Stella and Nebula were used to the heat, dozens from other kingdoms were sweating up a storm (Vacuo was too poor to put air conditioning in their transportation systems). Their only salvation was opening the windows, and even then the sand-laced wind scratched against their faces and eyes to make them more ill-tempered. Then the complaints started rolling in ("Vale has flying ships to take them to the academy", "Atlas is naturally cool all year 'round", and "We never had these problems in Mistral"). Stella didn't take well to these foreigners badmouthing her homeland and wanted to tell them to go back home in they were going to whine, but Nebula held her back by her shoulder.

"Let it go, Stel," said Nebula coolly. "They're just not used to Vacuo's harsh terrain just yet. They'll get used to it eventually."

"I don't see why they have to 'get used to it' in the first place," Stella grumbled, crossing her arms angrily. "I don't get why Shade Academy keeps letting these…outsiders come to our kingdom. All they ever do is moan and groan about how hard it is and always look down on us because we're the weakest economic power, especially Atlas."

"Oh Oum, you're not gonna start that again, are you?" groaned Nebula, leaning back in a slump.

"Atlas thinks they're _so special_ just because they have a fancy military and gadgets," ranted Stella. Nebula came prepared for this situation; she pulled out the earplug in her pocket while Stella wasn't looking. "Atlas is full of stuck-up, egotistical snobs who never work a day in their lives – I bet they have robots to do everything for them, even for wiping their asses. And worse than being lazy, they're all liars, thieves, and cheats, especially the Schnees. Those self-serving bastards take what they want and don't give a damn about the people they hurt to do it. I heard that they started pushing other Dust shops out of business so that they can monopolize on the Dust; they're putting hard working men and women out on the street for their own selfish gain. And I don't even need to tell you about their Faunus labor practices."

"Uh-huh," said Nebula absently; she heard this story a hundred times already.

"Ya said it, shorty," said a new voice, speaking in a southern drawl. "Them Schnees are the worst."

Stella and Nebula lifted their heads curiously and had to lean back against their seat to get a good look at the face of the woman standing in front of them. While Stella would admit that she was unusually short for her age, this woman had the opposite problem. If she were standing up, Nebula would probably be level with her shoulders while the top of Stella's head would only come to the underside of the woman's breasts. Stella puffed out her check in a pout; she was too short, this girl was just too damn big!

The woman was a bear Faunus with a rich shade of mocha-brown skin, a fluffy mess of honey-yellow hair that touched her shoulders, and a pair of round, brown furred ears poking out of her head. She wore a dusty-brown, short-sleeved jacket with a tipped honey pot woven in yellow thread on the back, a black T-shirt underneath, a pair of khaki pants with golden steel shin guards, a crooked leather belt, and a cute animated bear charm dangling from her left pocket. Both of her arms were covered by a pair of golden steel gauntlets that reached to her elbows, both of them with stamped with black honey pot symbols on the back of the hands, and four slots opened at the knuckles.

The bear Faunus offered out her hand, which Nebula and Stella both took; Stella was made well away how tiny her pencil-sized fingers were against the Faunus's sausage-sized ones.

"The name's Honey Malaya," the bear Faunus introduced herself.

"Stella Stratos," said Stella, then gestured to Nebula, "and this is my best friend, Nebula Violette."

"What's up," Nebula waved.

"The sky, the clouds, the sun," said Honey jokingly; every passenger groaned in unison. "Oh, come on, that was a classic."

"Classic meaning old as dirt in this case," Stella muttered to Nebula, who snorted. "So, Honey, what were you saying about the Schnees? I take it you hate them, too."

"Not so much hate them, as I don't approve of their methods," said Honey. "Back when my parents were kids, the Schnee Dust Company was a lot more Faunus friendly – that was back when the founder and original CEO was in charge. My dad said he even used to work at one of their facilities in Mistral back when conditions were better. Then the owner's son took over and everything went to shit. All of a sudden, Faunus are being treated like slaves and no one does a thing about it because the Schnees have nearly everyone on the planet in their back pocket."

"So does that mean you approve of what the White Fang are doing?" asked Stella suspiciously, keeping a firm hand on her bag (and the book inside).

"The White Fang are even worse than the Schnees," said Honey, glaring angrily. "At least I know not everyone in the Schnee family is a total ass, just the prick running everything. Sure, the SDC treats the Faunus badly at work, but the White Fang are a bunch of terrorists giving humans a reason to hate our kind. They even fooled themselves into believing that what they're doing is helping the Faunus instead of making it worse. Oum, what I wouldn't give to punch one more of them in the face. They tried to force my niece into recruiting, you know."

"Is she all right?" asked Nebula in concern.

"Yeah, she's fine," said Honey, grinning from ear-to-ear. "I went down to one of their recruitment drives and kicked all of their asses…. And I totally didn't get my ass kick by one guy the size of a building, in case you were wondering."

"We weren't," said Stella blandly.

"I mean, this guy was **_HUGE_** ," Honey continued, not seeming to have heard the shorter girl. "It was like someone put a person on top of another person and put another person on top of them…and maybe throw on a couple of little people to even things out. You look like you'd be around the right size, shorty."

Nebula groaned in a whiny sense as she edged her way down the aisle, dragging their bags along with her as Stella's face turned a vibrant shade of brick-red; the throbbing vein on her forehead was prominent. The bear Faunus tilted her head in confusion at Stella's sudden shift in demeanor. She, along with nearly everyone else on the train, was taken by surprise when Stella suddenly jumped out of her seat and latched herself to Honey's chest, gripping the collar of her jacket with her legs wrapped around the Faunus' waist. The future archaeologist probably intended it to be intimidating, but due to their extreme difference in size, it looked more like a mother carrying her baby; Nebula snorted behind her hand at the imagery. She even screamed like a little child, thought the indigo-haired woman.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PIPSQUEAK SO TINY SHE'S THE SIZE OF A PIXEL AND A FILE SO SMALL SHE'S 1 KB?!"

While most people backed away from the scene with strange and disturbed looks, Honey just started laughing out loud. Stella was taken aback; no one had ever laughed after one of her infamous "short rants" as Nebula oh-so affectionately called them. The bear Faunus then reached around, grasped the shorter Huntress by the scuff of her jacket, and peeled her off so casually as if it were a common occurrence. This left Stella dangling from Honey's fingertip several feet off the floor; the bear Faunus was doing this intentionally, Stella could tell from the wide grim on her face. With no other alternative, Stella started flailing her arms and legs at the bear Faunus, only coming up short by a few inches.

"Put me down, you overgrown throw rug!" screamed Stella furiously. "You just wait until I get out of this, cause I'm gonna beat you so hard – "

"Whoa, whoa, you need to chill out, shrimp," said Honey jokingly.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING A SHRIMP!" screeched Stella; Honey guffawed.

" **Now arriving at Shade Academy,** " said the automated voice over the loudspeakers. " **Please collect all personal belongs and exit through the doors of the right.** "

The bear Faunus dropped Stella flat on her face, stepped over the smeller woman, grabbing her bag from the overhead, and arched over to the door as the train began to decelerate. Stella got up to her hands and feet, glaring at Honey's back looking ready to pounce, when the rest of the passengers broke into a chaotic frenzy trying to collect their stuff and be the first ones to the door. Dozens of different types of shoes walked over her back and head ("Why – are so – many people – wearing – high heels?" grunted Stella). Her semblance healed any scratches and bruise that formed, but that didn't make it hurt any less. Then, thankfully, mercifully, the doors opened and the passengers started their own little stampedes out the door. When the dust had settled, the only people left onboard were Stella (sporting a wide variety of footprints on her back), Nebula (who had remained seated during the event), and a pink haired kid that couldn't move due to motion sickness.

"Well, that's one way to start your first day," said Nebula teasingly.

"Shut and help me," groaned Stella.

The indigo-haired huntress rolled her eyes, but nonetheless got up and pulled her best friend up using her shoulder for support. They remembered to collect their bags first – Stella wasn't going to let go of the book until she found out why it is special – and together, the pair dragged themselves outside. The first few steps out, they had expected to be beaten down by the harsh, unforgiving sun that they had become accustomed to, but instead the air around the station felt surprisingly cool and slightly darker than before. Stella and Nebula tilted their heads back to look up and their jaws dropped in awe; Nebula unintentionally let go of Stella and the shorter Huntress fell on the ground.

The cloudless, sun-filled sky was blocked off by a ceiling of stirring green hanging hundreds feet above their heads. They took a step back (or in Stella's case, picked herself up) and corrected themselves. It wasn't a ceiling, but the canopy of massive overhanging tree that stood over fifteen thousand feet tall, its gnarled and mildly carved trunk with exposed roots several hundred feet in every direction, and what must have been millions of branches overlapping each other to support the foliage. With its wide coverage, the massive tree seemed to cover the entire region in cool, refreshing shade. Once they had a better look round, Stella and Nebula noticed that much of the tree and its roots had been hollowed out and had installed doors and window, essentially converting them into habitable buildings.

"They made the school out of the tree?" said Nebula, dumbfounded.

"Well, I suppose it is cheaper than buying building materials," said Stella equally stunned. "I guess this is where Shade Academy got its name…. My Oum, look at this thing. It must be thousands of years old. This tree could essentially predate all recorded history."

"Oh my Oum, if you gonna go on about history again, I'm out," said Nebula irritably, shaking her head and walking away.

"How can you not be fascinated by this, Nebula?" said Stella as she chased after her best friend, looking like Nebula had committed a heinous sin. "We are literally standing on the threshold of living history and you're not even the least bit excited."

"It's awesome and all," admitted Nebula. "I mean, you'd have to be very cleaver to figure out how to transform a giant tree into a school for Huntsmen, and it does keep things pretty chill around here, but not everyone is a history nerd like you, Stel. You really need to cool it, or you'll end up becoming socially out of place like you were in Umbra Academy and you won't end up making any friends."

"That's why I keep you around," said Stella.

"Gee, thanks," said Nebula blandly. "But seriously, you need to start making friends, Stel. One of the important things about being a Huntsman is knowing how to get along with people. And I heard that secondary combat schools divide people up into teams of four, which means whether or not we end up in the same team, you'll still have to get along with a couple of others."

"Yeah, I see your point," said Stella, hanging her head in defeat. "I just hope I don't end up on the same team with that annoying bear girl, or one of those oversexualized weirdos."

Right at the moment those words left her lips, the aspiring archaeologist turned forward and her face pressed into something very large and soft that obscured her vision from either side. For some reason beyond her own understanding, Stella didn't pull away but instead reached up and grabbed the strange cushion with both hands. They were very, very soft – like marshmallows stuffed with feathers wrapped in clouds. Now Stella has even enough animated television to know the type of stereotypical encounter she had found herself in and could only imagine the stupefied look on Nebula's face if she were to look. And then she heard it: that soft, breathless, sultry voice.

"Don't stop now…it's getting to the good part…."

Stella jumped away like she had been electrocuted; the heat and blood were quickly rising to her head. The voluptuous woman that she had practically groped gave an amused simper smile, licking her lips in sexually enticing way, which wasn't surprising; everything about her screamed "sexy". Her skin soft and fair like a porcelain doll with the rich waterfall of midnight-black hair that reached to her shoulder; even the random white hairs that formed three circle in her hairline made her look exotic. And if Stella were to chance a guess, she would say that the woman was giving her bedroom eyes now, but it was impossible to tell with the strange contraption covering them. It looked like a high-tech visor made from black fiberglass with a neon-blue light tracing across the middle.

The shorter Huntress chanced a look down and immediately regretted it, suddenly becoming very light headed. The woman's clothing let **_nothing_** to the imagination. The full-body black suit woven from synthetic fibers ("Is that Kevlar?" Stella wondered) was so tight and hugged her curves so well that it may as well have been a second skin. The zipper in front was pulled down past her stomach and stopped short of her pelvis, leaving her belly button and ample amount of cleavage for the whole world to see. Even though the sit oozed with sexuality, there were several white pads strategically placed over her breasts, shoulders, elbows, thighs, and calves for an extra layer of protection. There was also a silver utility belt hanging loosely around her waist; Stella didn't imagine he kept makeup in those pouches.

The bi-colored woman tilted her head in a thoughtful expression and slowly sauntered closer to Stella; oh my Oum, the way she swayed her hips was so tantalizing. She leaned in close so that their faces were only inches apart; she could feel the woman's hot and heavy breath on her face; Stella felt a pleasurable shiver run down her spine. The sexy stranger pressed her finger on Stella's chest, drawing slow, sensual patterned across her breast. Oh Oum, what is this woman doing to me, Stella shouted in her head.

"Mmm…so much muscle underneath that small exterior," said the woman breathlessly, her voice a supple whisper in Stella's ear. "Tell me, darling, what's your name?"

"S – Stella," said Stella, shuddering.

"Stella…," the way the woman spoke her name, so soft and lustful, filled her with goosebumps. "Mmm…such a beautiful name…. It means 'Star', doesn't it?" – Stella nodded slowly – "Well…Stella…I hope you're not just satisfied with a little motorboating…. We could always find a nice, quiet place for a little…adult fun…. But let's save that for later…too many eyes and ears, am I right?"

"I – ugh – er – duh – " sputtered Stella.

"Smooth, girl," said Nebula.

"Aw, you're just too cute," said the bi-colored woman with a soft chuckle. "Here's something you can look forward to later."

Stella was so stunned by the woman's blatant innuendo that she didn't put up a fight when she cupped Stella's face in her hands and pulled her close, very roughly. The shorter Huntress only snapped out of her stupor when the sexy Huntress pressed her lips against her own in what could only be described as a heated make-out session. Stella went wide-eyed flailed her arms around in surprise, but did not pull away. The kiss was rough, yet soft at the same time, like they were – wait, did she slip her tongue in? Stella was dangerously close to passing out, both from the overwhelming embarrassment rushing to her head, and the lack of oxygen.

Just as quickly as she started, the bi-colored woman pulled away with a cunning grin. Stella was stiff as a statue; her eyes bugged out and her jaw hanging open. The sexy huntress was polite enough to close Stella's mouth for her.

"Catch you later, cutie," said the bi-colored Huntress.

The strange woman sauntered away toward the school, her hips swaying in a way that drew the eyes of every man and woman in the courtyard.

Nebula stepped up to her best friend, who was still frozen in shock and snapped her fingers in Stella's face; the aspiring archaeologist shook her head free once breaking her trance.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" shrieked Stella.

"I think that was one of those 'oversexualized weirdos' you were talking about," said Nebula, snorting behind her hand. "I never knew you had such a way with the ladies, Stel. Maybe I should be taking notes."

"Shut up!" yelled Stella embarrassingly, smacking her best friend's shoulder; Nebula laughed louder. "That's not funny! I feel like I've been violated – not a word!" she snapped at Nebula, who was about to comment.

"Hey, it could've been worse," said Nebula, shrugging. "At least you got to have a make-out session with a smoking hot bombshell like that. I'm actually kinda jealous. All in all, I'd say you're coming out ahead today."

"Just hope there aren't any more surprise encounters," grumbled Stella.

Meanwhile, another train filled with new and returning students had just pulled into the station and a fresh flood of people spilled out when the doors flew open. Stella and Nebula courteously stepped aside to let the people through; Stella was quick to notice that more than half of the new students appeared to be foreigners. It wasn't surprising in the least. Attending a major school for Huntsmen cost a lot of Lien, especially Atlas Academy, which was known for accepting students with only the deepest pockets or planned to enlist in their military programs. Given Vacuo's weak economy, tuition to Shade Academy was the cheapest in the world and the last hope for anyone wanting to become a Huntsman. But as the wave of students started to pass them, Stella and Nebula caught sight of two women bringing up the rear that looked largely out of place.

The first woman had an exotic shade of olive skin that impossibly flawless, free of blemishes and unsightly scarring, with silky-smooth brunette hair that touched the base of her spine, and eyes that shined like emeralds. She wore a flowing dress that was white at the chest and turned soft mint on the way down with golden vine patterns looping around the hem and moss-green doves with olive branches woven in three places. She also wore a mossy-green corset overtop her dress, a green silk sarong tied around her hip, and a light-brown vest. A silver spiral arm band was wrapped around her left bicep, seven golden bangles clattered on her right wrist, and emerald pendent dangled around her neck.

The second woman was very tall (but thankfully nowhere as tall as Honey) with lightly tanned skin common among those born in Vacuo, and dirty blonde hair that was swept to her left side, draped over her shoulder. She wore a sleeveless green dress with an asymmetrical hem and golden scale armor underneath that covered her chest, neck, and the entirety of her left arm. A light green sarong matching the first woman was wrapped around her hip and a golden pauldron was strapped to her right shoulder by two golden chains. She also wore golden scale leggings that went over her knees covered by armored boots of a similar design.

Everyone's head turned to the first woman similar to the way they looked at the bi-colored Huntress earlier, only with less perversion and more admiration. The way she carried herself – prim and proper – was something not commonly seen in Vacuo. Stella heard someone call her a princess, which might not be such an inaccurate statement in her opinion; she was like a rare gem found in the desert. But the second woman (who seemed to be carrying both of their baggage), while equally stunning, was also very terrifying. Her eyes seemed to be slanted in a permanent disapproving look and glared away anyone that got close to them.

"Doesn't look like she's from around here," said Nebula, sounding impressed.

"I know, right?" said Stella. "She looks like she belongs at Atlas, or at least Beacon. Not some hole in the ground like Shade."

"It's kinda sad how easily we recognize the inferiority our homeland compared to other kingdoms," said Nebula, hanging her head.

"Yeah…," said Stella, also hanging her head. "Being poor sucks."

As the two women passed Stella and Nebula, something dropped out of the olive-skin Huntress' pocket and clapped on the ground at Stella's feet. The aspiring archaeologist bended down curiously and picked it up. It was a book – a romance novel based on the cover – with two one on the cover; one was dressed as a pirate dipping another woman in an elegant ball gown as the ocean sprayed in the background. The title written in a fine golden cursive titled the book: **_Love on the High Seas._** For a moment, Stella wondered if it was related to the **_Ninjas of Love_** series…not that she read it, mind you. Nope, absolutely not.

"Excuse me!" shouted Stella, waving the novel over her head. The two women turned; one looked curious and the only looked ready to attack. "I think you dropped this!"

"Oh my…," said the olive-skinned woman; her voice was very soft spoken. She looked in her pocket and realized the book wasn't there. "Oh my, thank you ever so kindly. I don't know what I would have done if I had lost it. A good friend of mine went out of his way to procure it for me."

"Even the way she talks is fancy," muttered Nebula.

"Sure, it was no problem," said Stella, handing back the book. "Just make sure you hold to it, okay? There're a lot of shady people in Vacuo – no pun intended."

"Yeah, yeah, thanks for the advice," said the taller girl hurriedly, grabbing her companion roughly by the arm. "Come on, miss, we should get going. Don't want to miss orientation."

"Dew, don't be rude," said the olive-skinned woman disapprovingly, pulling back her arm. "Please do forgive her. She's quite overprotective of my person. Allow me to introduce herself" – She surprised Stella and Nebula when she bended into a polite curtsy – "I am Olive Evergreen, fourteenth head of the Celadon-Evergreen Family. And this is my bod – I mean, friend, Dew Gayl."

"Hello," said Dew curtly.

"My name's Stella Stratos," said Stella, shaking Olive's hand.

"Nebula Violette," said Nebula, also shaking her hand. "So, you don't look like you're from around here. We don't get a lot of fancy folks around these parts."

"Oh, I wouldn't consider myself 'fancy'," said Olive modestly. "I'm just a regular girl from Mistral aspiring towards a career in Huntsmanship in this fine learning establishment."

"Forgive us if we don't believe that," said Nebula, her brow raised.

"It doesn't matter what you think, nor do we care for it," said Dew sternly, now pulling Olive away by the shoulder. "Miss, we really should be moving along. We still have to find out where the auditorium is located before we miss orientation."

"Maybe we can all go together," Nebula offered. Dew bared her teeth at the indigo-haired woman, which made her step back. "Girl, chill for a moment, will ya? I just figured that it might be better if we all went as a group than just scrambling around like Beowolves with their heads cut off."

"We don't need – " Dew started.

"I agree with her," Olive spoke aloud; Dew turned on her heel and gapped at the Mistral princess. "You know what they say: two heads and better than one, and four heads are better than two. Plus, it would be very wise to start making new friends now, Dew. I heard that one of the most important rules of being a Huntsman is the ability to become compatible with strangers to improve the chances of success. And mother did say that Huntsman Academies divide individuals into groups of fours, so there is the likely possibility that we might not end on the same team. It would be prudent to learn to get along with others, Dew."

"That's a very wise thing to say, Olive," said Stella, crossing her arms and nodding apprpovingly.

"Girl, I literally just said that ten minutes ago," said Nebula, leering at her best friend.

"Miss, it's not that I – " said Dew uncertainly. She glanced at Stella and Nebula, then leaned close to Olive and dropped her voice to a whisper. "It's dangerous to go running around with strangers, Miss. Especially with someone of your status. What if they find out who you are and take you for ransom when I'm not around to protect you?"

"They're not going to find out who I am, Dew," said Olive firmly.

"But – " Dew argued.

"I know you mean well, Dew," said Olive with a grimace, "but I came to Shade Academy so that I could learn to take care of myself, and not become dependent on my family. If you don't give me a chance to prove myself, how will I ever be able to face mother and father?"

"I – " Dew stammered hesitantly before sighing in defeat. "Ugh, fine."

"Great!" said Olive, clapping her hand cheerfully. "Then let us carry forth, shall we? I am sure there is much to see within this fine educational facility."

"A school," said Stella. "It's called a school."

"Yes, quite," said Olive pleasantly.

The shorter Huntress resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Olive Evergreen may look the part of the princess, but that didn't mean she had to act like it; just looking at her made Stella feel like she was wearing rags by comparison. But nonetheless, Stella and Nebula stepped into line with Olive as they walked up to boulevard to large, gated hole at the base of the tree that served as Shade Academy's front entrance. And, of course, Dew was standing over the group from behind, leering down over Stella and Nebula like an overprotective big sister (there's a new stereotype for ya). When Nebula threw a friendly arm over Olive's shoulder, Dew looked ready to rip the limb from its socket; Olive quickly admonished her before she could react.

This is gonna be an interesting year, Stella thought.

* * *

Meanwhile, the students that were arriving remained blissfully unaware that they were being watched from above from a window at one of the highest point of the tree.

Through the looking glass, a man stood rigid and stalwart with his hands folded behind his back; his pointed, crystal-blue eyes were sharp behind a pair of wire rimmed glasses. He was a fairly handsome man with sharp, narrow features that was complimented with his short, slicked back crystal-blue hair – one of his hairs was purposely left dangling over his wide forehead to give a more refined look. His attire matched well with the rest of him: a navy-blue dress shirt with a bolo tie underneath a white, gold buttoned vest, and a pair of pressed tan pants and polished black shoes.

His eyes wandered over the large crowds of students culminating in the courtyard as the third and fourth trains brought the next wave of people. He pressed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and turned away from the window, facing another character that was present in the room, hidden out of sight by the shadows.

"It looks like we have another interesting crop of students arriving this year, Headmistress," said the refined man.

"Oh joyous days, oh joyous day! Callooh! Callay!" The unseen Headmistress cheered in a youthful, high-pitched voice. "Our new friends have come to play, all merry and gay! First we'll have some tea, and then there be monsters to slay! Hip-hip-horray!"

"Headmistress, I kindly request that you don't act so foolishly this year," said the man disapprovingly. "You represent Shade Academy, therefore what the thoughts other Academies, as well as our own students, will be reflected by your actions. So no more playing tag with the students, or sneaking out for midnight snacks, or orchestrating an Ursa-riding contest like last year."

"That was fun," said the headmistress, giggling.

"This is serious, Headmistress," the man scolded. "You are expected to act properly during orientation. If you act out again, I will have no choice but revoke your cookie privileges!"

"You monster!" shouted the Headmistress, banging her fist on the desk. "You're an evil man, Sinclair! EVIL!"

"If it gets you to do the job you were given, then I'm fine with that," said Sinclair, pushing his glasses up again. "Speaking of jobs, Headmaster Ozpin called earlier. He want to know the status of the book."

"What book?" asked the Headmistress absently.

"The book that was stolen from Beacon several days ago," said Sinclair with a sigh. "Not to worry, I have already informed Headmaster Ozpin that the book is safely out of the hands of those ne'er-do-wells…. However, I fear that the book has fallen under the possession of another. One of our students, in fact."

"Lucky day, lucky day! Callooh! Callay!" cheered the Headmistress, clapping like an eager child.

"Yes, quite," said Sinclair calmly. He pulled out a scroll, tapped a few buttons, and presented a picture of – "Her name is Stella Stratos. She is starting her first year at Shade Academy, and it just so happens that she is the daughter of our school's history teacher, Professor Stratos. We don't think any of them are full aware of the significance behind the book, but it would fill me with relief once we know that the book has been secured. I would suggest an immediate sweep of her belongings under the guise of routine inspection – "

"Just leave it alone, Sinclair," said the Headmistress.

"But Headmistress," argued Sinclair, "the danger of leaving that book exposed – "

"The reason the bad guys were able to take it was because they knew Ozpin was keeping it for himself," said the headmistress wisely. "If anyone comes looking for the book at Shade, they'll automatically think that we have it and try to find a way to sneak into our offices. They'd never think that a random student was hiding the book all along."

"Well…I do see your point," said Sinclair hesitantly.

"Just keep an eye on her," said the headmistress. "If anything goes bad, we'll just jump in to save the day. But then again, this **_is_** Shade Academy – the poorest school in all of Remnant. Who would come looking here?"

* * *

 **That should about do it for the second chapter, which was more of an introductory stage than anything else. This chapter was mainly meant to focus on the central cast of characters before bringing the rest of the school in. But for all those wondering how long they have to wait until their characters show up, don't worry. The next chapter will be the sleepover and I'll use that as an opportunity to introduce most (if not all) the Original characters submitted, and maybe a little fight scene here and there to make it more interesting.**

 **So until that time comes around, please read and review. Remember, I can't get better unless I know what I'm doing wrong.**


	4. The Sleepover Situation

**A/N: Takes place three years before RWBY Vol. 1.**

 **A/N 2: Make absolutely certain you read the trailers before starting.**

 **Vol 1, Episode 3: The Sleepover Situation**

It only took them half an hour and looking through three different "Root-Houses" as Olive so eloquently called them, but they did manage to find the auditorium; it was the biggest hole at the base of the tree – go figure. When Stella, Nebula, and their new friends, Olive and Dew, walked in, the first thing they were taken back by was the sheer scale of the amphitheater. It looked like the entire tree base had been carved out into a massive dome shape chamber with smooth, sanded walls carved with different murals. Stella would love to examine those murals in further detail; it looked like they told the story of Shade. There was a staging area on the wall opposite the door draped with orange curtains and the three swords of Vacuo along with a single marble podium in the center.

But even more surprising than the fine craftsmanship of the auditorium was the number of people waiting for orientation to start. While other academies only accepted a one or two hundred students at a time, the amount that crowded the massive auditorium must have been closer to half a thousand. None too surprising since Shade was the cheapest of the four Huntsmen Schools; they weren't too picky about who they accepted. The diversity among them was just as incredible: from the pale-skinned Atlesians, to the thick accent of the Mistrals, to the wide variety of Faunus ranging from dogs to leopards. Stella gave a low, impressed whistle.

"Well, it would seem that we have made it safely," said Dew the very instant they were in the hall, clapping Olive by her forearm. "Come along, miss. We've bothered them long enough."

"It wasn't any bo – "Nebula started.

"You see, miss, they don't want us taking up their time any longer," said Dew, now tugging at her companion. "Come along and we shall fine a nice quiet space until orientation begins."

"We're telling you, it's no – " said Stella.

"Thank you for your time!" shouted Dew. "Let's not meet again soon!"

And with that frankly rude statement, the Amazonian beauty hefted Olive over her shoulder and fast-walked away from Stella and Nebula into the crowd, drawing a lot of attention from the shadow people. Olive smiled embarrassingly over Dew's shoulder and waved to Stella and Nebula, who waved weakly in response.

"Well, that was rude," said Nebula.

"Too bad," said Stella, crossing her arms with a disappointed pout. "It was nice having a fun, quirky girl to talk to."

"You don't think I'm quirky?" said Nebula, fists on her hips and a brow raised.

"No, you're just not fun," said Stella teasingly; Nebula punched in the shoulder hard enough to leave a bruise, which disappeared in a second. "Hyper accelerated healing factor."

"I hate your semblance sometimes," said Nebula, shaking her head.

Stella only laughed at her misfortune and the two of them joined the throng of students. The pair attempted to traverse through the sea of students to make their way to the front so that Stella could better see the stage due to her being…height challenged (Nebula's words, not her own). They were able to slip through the crowd without much resistance (the other students were surprisingly non-reactive), and were nearly up to the front when giant yellow wall appeared out of nowhere and cut them off. Stella and Nebula blinked comically, took two giant steps back, and craned their heads to look up.

The "wall" as they called it wasn't actually a wall at all, but the huge mountain of a man Stella had seen at the train station, standing a full head and shoulders above the other students. He had dark skin natural to the natives of Vacuo with an obscenely mass of muscle underneath the skin, wine-red eyes, and short gray that tickled his neck. He wore a bright yellow short-sleeve shirt with a dark gray vest on top, light brown work pants with multiple pockets, a belt holding a variety of tools, and sand-colored boots with matching gloves.

The human giant was glaring at his shoulder, or more specifically, the guy who had the nerve to use his shoulder as a seat. And not just sit on his shoulder, but even dared to play an electric guitar close to the mammoth's ear. The guy was braver than she was, Stella thought.

The fearless (or clueless) man that dared to sit on the titan was a fairly tall and lean with slicked-back pale-blonde hair that complimented his fair white skin, though he had an interesting array of tribal tattoos starting from his right shoulder to his wrist. He wore a crimson-red coat that was left open to display his admittedly impressive six pack abs, black jeans held up by a gold-studded leather belt, and a pair of black boots with white strips on the sides. He also wore a choker around his neck from which his personal emblem dangled: a tilted crown surrounded by musical notes.

The blonde man strummed a few notes on his guitar, which actually sounded good to Stella, who has never spent much time listening to music. The big guy, however, was not as amused; he tilted his head to the guitarist and gave him the deepest scowl that Stella had ever seen.

"Excuse me," said the mountain man; he was surprisingly polite. "Uh…Mr. Rory, was it? Do you mind not playing that racket so close to my ear? It's starting to give me a headache."

"Racket?" said Rory, gasping overdramatically. "You're calling my art a 'racket'? I'll have you know, Gray Man – "

"Grayson," the tall man injected.

"Grayson!" Rory corrected himself. "I'll have you know that chord was from my biggest hit, "Joker and the Thief", which was rated number #1 on the Atlesian Music Board for six weeks in a row! A new record! It even went double platinum two years ago! Still think it's just a 'racket'?"

"I don't know; I stopped paying attention after you misspoke my name," said Grayson.

The would-be musician known as Rory snapped around at the taller Huntsman-in-training looking shocked, but his sudden movement causing him to slip off Grayson's shoulder and fall down to the floor, hitting the back of his head. The corners of Grayson's lip edged upwards into a small smile. At the same time, Stella and Nebula couldn't resist laughing at the poor musician, though they at least had the common courtesy to snicker behind their hands. But while the two women were distracted by the comedic scene, they failed to notice someone stomping up behind them until they grabbed Stella by the nape of her jacket. With little effort, the aspiring archaeologist was lifted off the ground and left dangling several by several feet. Growling through her gnashing teeth, Stella swung her arms and twisted around to glare at –

"YOU!" screeched Stella.

"Howdy, short stack, how's it hanging?" said Honey cheerfully. "I mean, beside you."

"Oh, I see what you did there," said Nebula, nodding approvingly.

"DON'T ENCOURAGE HER!" Stella snapped at her best friend; Nebula raised her arms in mock surrender. "AND WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SUPER MIDGET, SHE GETS EATEN BY A FROG AND RUN OVER BY AN ANT?!"

"Oh my Oum, you are hilarious!" said Honey; her words were mingled and broken by a series of uncontrollable laughter. "Do you write that stuff down, or do you just come up with it on the fly? You know what, never mind" – her laughter turned to nervous chuckles at Stella's red-faced glare. The bear Faunus politely put the shorter Huntress down on her feet, brushing any shed fur off her jacket – "Okay, okay, I apologize; y'all can put the claws back. Y'all know I'm just messing with ya, right? No hard feelins'."

"Don't count on a truce any time soon," said Nebula amusingly. "She can hold a grudge longer than her growth cycle, which isn't all that long, now that I think about."

"HAH!" Honey guffawed, slapping her knee amusingly. "Good one!"

"Nebula…," growled Stella in a low voice.

"Look, we's got on the wrong foot earlier and I'm man – or woman – enough to admit it was ma' fault," said Honey sincerely, offering her huge hand to the shorter Huntress. "What say we's start fresh, m'kay? Buddies?"

"Yeah…I guess," said Stella, begrudgingly shaking hands with the Faunus woman.

"This may be ta start of a beautiful friendship, tiny," said Honey, grinning.

"THAT DOES IT!" screeched Stella.

The aspiring archaeologist attempted to jump the impressively tall bear Faunus, but Honey held out her hand on Stella's face and kept the shorter woman back by a considerable distance. When Stella's shorter arms couldn't reach Honey, she started swinging her arms like windmills, which did nothing except make her look more pathetic than she already was; Nebula shook her head, feeling embarrassed for her friend. And while this was going on, Deputy-Headmaster Sinclair appeared from the side of the staging area, drawing nearly every eye on him. The sophisticated-looking gentleman seemed to purposely ignore the commotion going on in the crowd, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose before folding them behind his back.

"If you would kindly settle down, students," said Sinclair; his voice was not too loud, but it seemed to carry through the entirety of the auditorium. Honey and Stella thankfully put their little squabble on hold to pay attention, which Sinclair was grateful for. "While I am certain most of you are wishing to accommodate yourselves after a long journey through the desert, the Headmistress would like to say a few words before we send you on your way. Ladies and gentlemen, I present you with the hade Academies beloved Headmistress, Alis Blanche."

All of the second-year or older students clapped politely – a few of them were even howling and whistling like they were at a sporting event. Stella, Nebula, and Honey followed their example. The curtains behind the podium parted ever so slightly before closing again, but it didn't appear that anyone had shown up. She turned to Nebula, who shook her shoulders saying she was just as clueless, then turned to Honey, who was scratching her head with the most bewildered look on her face. Did the Headmistress have an invisibility semblance, Stella wondered.

As she mulled the idea around in her head, something popped up from behind the podium briefly before vanishing again. It popped up again a second later, and disappeared just as quickly. And the pattern repeated itself twice more. If Stella didn't know better, she thought she had saw rabbit ears. Sinclair casually strolled over to the podium and produced a stepping stool from seemingly out of nowhere and set it down on the ground behind the stand. The unseen Headmistress climbed the small steps and added to the long list of surprises Stella had seen in the last hour.

The aspiring archaeologist had been expecting an old, wrinkly woman somewhere close to how the other Headmasters were, like Ozpin of Ironwood. But instead, Stella, Nebula, and Honey found themselves staring open-mouthed at a tiny little girl that couldn't have been more than ten years of age. And not just a little girl, but a little Faunus girl with short, choppy white hair and two rabbit floppy rabbit ears sticking from the top of her head. She wore a baby-blue dress with a series of numbers ranging from one to twelve woven into the hem underneath a white, golden-buttoned waistcoat, white stockings with polished-black shoes, and a bright-yellow bowtie. And dangling from one of the pockets of her waist coat was a golden pocket watch with five hands instead of the usual two.

Though the first years were equally as dumbfounded as Stella was feeling, all of the returning students didn't seem the least bit surprised that a little kid was running the academy. And when she cleared her throat (her voice was so tiny and adorable, in Stella's opinion), everyone perked up with rapt attention.

"Hey, everyone!" shouted Headmistress Blanche cheerfully. "Welcome back to another awesome year at Shade Academy!"

The auditorium experienced a sudden explosion of cheer and whistles just as strong as when the diminutive headmistress was introduced. The noise scared the bejesus out of Stella, who unconsciously jumped into Honey's arms and pressed her face into the Bear Faunus' chest. When she realized what she had done, Stella was very slow to return her feet to the ground and kept her head down o that she wouldn't have to see Honey's smug grin.

"All right, all right, settle down!" said Headmistress Blanche with a hand gesture commanding them to lower the volume. The auditorium quieted down after a few moments. "As I was saying, welcome back to Shade Academy for all those returning today! And welcome to all our new students ready to take their first step to becoming full-fledge Huntsmen. For those of you who don't know, I am Alis Blanche, Headmistress of Shade Academy and your guide to what I hope to be a successful career of saving lives and slaying monsters!"

"You've got to be kidding me," said Nebula with a raised brow. "This is a joke, right?"

"It's no joke, Violette," said Headmistress Blanche, suddenly appearing on Nebula's shoulder. Stella, Nebula, and Honey understandably yelped. "Although, I did hear this really funny joke the other day. Okay, so a rabbi, a minister, and a priest walk into a convent – "

"Headmistress," called Sinclair, "the opening speech."

"Coming!" said Headmistress Blanche.

The tiny rabbit girl ducked down behind Nebula, and when the indigo-haired student looked over her shoulder, the headmistress was gone. Stella and her friend turned their attention back to the stage where Headmistress Blanche had resumed her previous position at the podium. Either she was really fast, or she had a teleportation semblance, Stella thought intriguingly.

"Okay, I'm not going to make some big, rousing speech that fills you with hope," said Headmistress Blanche. "Because that would be lying, and it's not nice to lie. The life of a Huntsman is not as glamorous as television makes it out to be. It is a cruel, unforgiving, and thankless job where the most you can do is prolonged the inevitable. Most students come to Shade, or any of the other academies for that matter, thinking they can change the world, that they can somehow miraculously end the threat of the Grimm and bad guys like the White Fang. But you can't. Honestly, it more like that most of the new students here will end up being killed during the initiation test tomorrow" – there was a large intake of breath in the auditorium and a lot of hushed muttering – "You probably don't want to hear that, but it's true. Every year, more than half of the new students that come to Shade either die during initiation, or survive and run away the next day. And whatever you might think, it's probably for the best."

"Wow, she doesn't mince words, does she?" said Honey with a petrified grimace.

"Shade Academy is a controlled envious…envelo…envie…," stammered Headmistress Blanche, trying to think of the right word.

"Environment," said Sinclair helpfully.

"Yeah, that's it!" said Headmistress Blanche. "Shade Academy is a controlled environment, but we wouldn't go easy on you just because you're students. You might have gotten off easy in your old schools, but in here, we're going to treat you as if you were fully licensed Huntsmen. That means we expect you to solve your own problems and fight your own fights. The teachers are only here to show you how to be better Huntsmen; they are not here to be your friends, you babysitters, your bodyguards, or your parents. If you don't think you can handle it, then I suggest you turn around and walk back to the train. Because in here, only the strong will survive and the weak will perish…. Okay, that's it, thank you, everybody! You've been a wonderful audience!" she finished with a cheerful smile and wave.

The older students clapped as the tiny headmistress wrapped up her speech while several of the new students ducked out of the auditorium, no doubt making their way back to the train. Stella shook her head disapprovingly. Having grown up in Vacuo, she was used to the "survival of the fittest" mentality. Those people running with their tails between their legs probably thought they were pampered like at the other schools. Stella wasn't the least bit surprised at all of them were foreigners.

"All returning students have been assigned to their dorms via Scroll," said Sinclair, stepping up as Headmistress Blanche jumped off the stool. "All new students are to remain in the auditorium to await their initiation tomorrow morning. Bed rolls and candles shall be provided and your luggage shall be delivered for you to retrieve your personal belongings. Light's out is nine o'clock sharp."

"Yay, sleepover!" cheered Headmistress Blanche, pumping her tiny fist in the air.

"Not for you," said Sinclair.

"Aww," whined Headmistress Blanche.

"Welp that was…something," said Honey uncomfortably.

"Tiny people sure are scary, right, Stel?" said Nebula.

"Yeah – HEY!" screeched Stella.

* * *

Night had fallen quickly over Shade Academy; the blistering desert heat transformed into frigid chill the moment the sun dipped over the horizon. The cold was even worse around the school, which already had a naturally cool climate under the shade of the Great Tree. Though every door and window in the auditorium had been seal shut and dozens of candles had been provided along with their bedrolls, the temperature was still unbearably cold. Most of the first year students were huddled together in groups, sharing blankets for warmth; one group built an architectural marvel by transforming several bedrolls into a decent-sized sealed fortress. The only ones who did not seem affected by the bitter chill were the Atlesians, who were acclimated to the temperature all year round. Just another thing to hate them for, Stella thought.

Stella bundled herself up in her bedroll next to Nebula and tried to keep her mind occupied by reading the book of fairy tales. No matter how many times she lifted the pages, the aspiring archeologist couldn't understand why Torchwick would bother stealing a dusty old book, or why the White Fang wanted to get their hands on it. If they had been trying to sell it, it would have made sense, but Stella was under the impression that not even the grunts knew what the book was for. Their leader might have a better idea, but Stella wasn't about to go ask him/her about it.

As Stella started the first verse of _The Girl in the Tower_ , Honey flopped down in the bedroll on her opposite side.

"Whatcha readin'?" sked Honey curiously.

"It's a book of old fairy tales," said Stella, flipping the page nonchalantly. "I got it from uh…a friend."

"Yeah, a friend with a real _explosive_ personality," said Nebula jokingly.

"Ooh, I used ta love that stories when I was a cub!" said Honey, leaning forward until she was invading Stella's personal space. "My ma and sis used to read 'em to me all the time. Ma favorite one was always _The Tale of the Three Wishes._ Here, let me see that" – Before Stella could get a word in edgewise, Honey snatched the book and started flipping through the pages – " _The Four Seasons, the Shallow Sea, The Secret History of Milk_ – ah, here we are! _The Tale of the Three Wishes._ I used ta love readin' 'bout this one all the time."

"That's the story about the three travelers who get their wishes granted, right?" asked Nebula.

"Yeah, and the third travel's the one that gets the happy endin' 'cause she ain't greedy," said Honey, her eyes already roaming over the words. But as she read over the passage, her brow scrunched thoughtfully and her smile dipped into a frown. "Huh, that's weird."

"What is?" asked Stella curiously.

"This story," said Honey uncertainly. "It's a lot different than the one ma and sis used to tell it."

"What do you mean?" asked Nebula, looking over in genuine interest.

"Well, look at the – "

"Wow, that amazing!" a sudden elated shout cut off the bear Faunus.

All interest in the book was immediately forgotten as Stella, Nebula, and Honey turned their attentions across the room towards the source of the ruckus. A small group of new students were clustered around the wall in a semi-circle, hovering over one another with excitable interest. Stella recognized two people in the crowd: Olive was at the edge of the circle with a child-like glint in her eyes, and Dew was standing over the princess with her arms cross and her brows creased like a stalwart sentinel. Stella had to admit her interest was piqued. She closed the book of fairy tales, stuffed it back in her back, stood up, and walked over to the crowd with Nebula and Honey behind her.

While Honey and Nebula hanged back at the edge of the crowd, Stella once again had to slip her way through the bodies for a better view of the attraction. Surprisingly, they were very accommodating. When the aspiring archaeologist reached the middle of the crowd, she found that everyone's eyes were on two girls sitting cross-legged on the floor with two lit candles a row of playing cards set on the floor between them.

The girl with her back against the wall was a young, brown-skinned woman with pointed gold eyes and orangish-brown hair tied back into a high bun. But what really made the woman stand out from the crowd were the innumerable layers of intricate tattoos that covered nearly every inch of the woman's skin. Some tattoos were written in fancy lettering like ' _Remember the Past'_ and ' _Beware the Future'_ on each of her arms, some were designed like animals such as the reddish-orange phoenix on her exposed back, and some were just a series of interconnected lines that Stella couldn't interpret. A red diamond jewel was stamped into the skin of her forehead, surrounded by a complex circle that looked more like a seal than a tattoo.

And sitting opposite of the tattooed woman was a slender woman with light-olive skin and shimmering-silver hair with streak of black that touched the base of her spine, stopping just short of her white-furred, black-spotted tail. She was a Faunus, Stella contemplated, most likely based on a cheetah going by her slender build. Like the woman opposite her, the Cheetah Faunus also had her own set of facial tattoos: dozens of black spots coating the edges of her face with black streaks beginning at the corners of her eyes and tracing down her face around her lips.

The cheetah Faunus was staring down at the playing cards between her and the tattooed woman with intense concentration, much to the amusement of the woman opposite her. The heavily tattooed woman reached out for the final card – the crowd suddenly edged closer with rapt attention – and flipped it, revealing a brightly colored circle with eight unique markings around the edges."

"The Wheel of Fortune – upright," said the tattooed woman. "Either meaning good luck or a turning point at life. Most likely, it is referring to the events that will be taking place the next day. There will be a positive change in your life, thought you will face some bad moments, but they will pass as they always do. To not be overelaborate, you will have a lot of good luck tomorrow, Nila Wright."

"Good, 'cause I have a feeling I'm gonna need all the luck I can get," said Nila, frowning worriedly.

"Do not fret; the cards tell us that you will be fine tomorrow," said the tattooed woman, patting the Faunus sympathetically on the shoulder. "Just trust your instincts and you shall succeed."

"What's going on here?" asked Stella, turning to Olive for answers.

"It's simply wonderful, Miss Stratos," said Olive, smiling like an overexcited child. "Miss Birch was just telling Miss Wright her fortune. She's amazing."

"You can call me Stella, Olive; Miss Stratos makes me feel older than I am," said Stella jokingly; Olive giggled in delight. "And I gotta tell ya, I wouldn't put too much faith in fortune telling if I were you. Everyone knows that fortune telling is just a bunch of guess work with no scientific fact to back it up. All they do is make a bunch of generalize statements that are likely to happen while avoiding the specific details. Sorry, Olive, but all fortune tellers are a bunch of frauds trying to scam suckers out of their money."

"That what you think Tawny Birch is, do you, Stella Stratos?" said the tattooed woman, shuffling the card deck; Stella was painfully aware that every eye is on her now. "You don't not believe in Tawny Birch's ability to glean the future? You believe that Tawny Birch is, how you say, 'a frauds trying to scam suckers out of their money'?"

"I know Tawny Birch loves talking about herself in the third person," said Stella tauntingly. "…wait, how'd you know my name was Stella Stratos?"

"The cards have already predicted our encounter, Stella Stratos," said Tawny in a mystically tone. "It was destiny that brought us together this night."

"No, I'm pretty sure it was a train," scoffed Stella.

"Sigh…such a curious mind, but also a narrow one," said Tawny. "If you are so confident that Tawny Birch is a sham as you say, then Stella Stratos won't mind if trying it for herself. After all, there's no harm in getting – what did you call it? – a bunch of generalize statements that are likely to happen while avoiding the specific details."

"You should do it, Stel," said Nebula teasingly. "Maybe she'll predict when your growth spurt will finally kick in."

"That's considering she ever has one," snickered Honey.

The two high-fived behind Stella even as the shorter girl glared at them out of the corner of her eye. Stella huffed and dropped to the floor cross-legged opposite the tattooed fortune teller, who smiled in a smug sort of way. There was no way she was gonna let this fraud get the best of her, Stella thought. Tawny shuffled her deck once and set three cards in a row between them.

"Each card represents one aspect of your timeline: the past, the present, and the future," said Tawny. "Let's started with the past" – she flipped the first card – "the hermit upright, an interesting card to begin with. Its general interpretation is soul-searching or inner guidance. You have questions about your own past that you seek to understand. I take it you were adopted as a child."

"Lucky guess," mumbled Stella.

"Luck has nothing to do with it, Stella Stratos," said Tawny confidently, flipping the next card. "The Magician upright – a very fortunate card to receive. The magician symbolizes skill and resourcefulness. As it is placed in the position of the present, its meaning can be interpreted into your personality. It means that whatever challenge or obstacle to face, you will always be able to find a creative solution around it. Very impressive, Stella Stratos."

"You're amazing, Stella," said Olive in awe.

"She hasn't even done anything," Dew quipped.

"And the final card, your future, is…," said Tawny mysteriously, reaching out for the final card when –

"Hey, what's going on over here?" said a loud voice in Stella's ear.

The aspiring archaeologist yelped and jumped away, knocking over the crowd that had been standing around into a pile of bodies. After throwing off a couple of students that had fallen on her, Stella sat up and glared at the person that spooked her. She immediately felt the blood rush to her face as she gazed upon the criminally sexy figure of the bi-colored woman she had made out with against her will. The blind Huntress grinned down on the shorter girl with her hand on her hip, knowing that everyone was 'admiring' her sleepwear – or lack of, to be more specific. Instead of pajamas or sweats, the woman found the skimpiest pair of black silk lingerie that _**barely**_ avoided any accusation of public nudity. Everyone was staring at her, and the blind woman knew it, whether it was the girls gapping horrified, or the men drooling; Dew slapped a hand over Olive's innocent eyes.

The blind huntress offered a hand to Stella, which the shorter woman hesitantly took up. When their fingers closed around each other, the sexy goddess pulled Stella up to her feet and buried her face into her bountiful breasts, smothering her. Many men murmured jealously; 'Lucky bitch', they called her.

"Mmm…I missed you, Stella," said the blind woman sensually. "Did you miss me?"

"Not…particularly…," grunted Stella, pulling herself out from her bosoms and taking deep breaths.

"Aw, don't be mean," said the blind woman in a husky voice into Stella's ear; the shorter woman shivered. "I thought we could take the time to get to know each other more…intimately."

"All right, all right, break it up!" yelled Honey outrageously. The bear Faunus grabbed them both around the middle and pulled them apart, much to Stella's gratitude. "Now…who in tarnation are ya?"

"Oh, you want to know my name, sweetie?" said the blind woman, pressing herself against the bear Faunus. "It's Domino Bones…as in jumping bones, if you catch my drift."

"The name's Honey, not sweetie," said Honey, pushing the blind woman off. "And don't try any o' that street corner tramp stuff on me; I don't swing that way."

"Too bad," said Domino, still smiling in suggestive way. "I know of some very creative kama sutras we could have used for someone of your…height."

"What are kama sutras?" asked Olive innocently.

"Nothing you need to know about," said Dew swiftly.

"Okay, I've think you've done enough for one day, Bones," said Nebula, stepping in between Domino and the rest of the group. "Not that we don't appreciate your company, but we were in the middle of something. So if you don't mind, please go away."

"Oh yeah, I heard you were telling fortunes over here," said Domino.

She padded across the floor, casually shoving Nebula one side, and approached Stella with a half-lidded blind stare. The shorter huntress took a couple of steps away, trying very hard not to notice the way her hips were swinging back and forth. Domino leaned forward until their faces were only half-an-inch apart much like ealier that day; the blind woman's warm breath tickled her lips.

"You want to know the future?" asked Domino in a low, raspy voice. "I'll tell you. It involves you…and me…in a dark place…and a lot of heat…."

As she spoke, Domino had grabbed Stella's hand and, much to the shorter woman's fright, settled it on her soft, yet firm behind. Stella ripped her hand away like it had been electrocuted, flinging it back above her head. A resounding _**smack**_ echoed loudly in the unnaturally silent auditorium. Stella made an audible gulping sound; she could feel something be hard and fleshy against the back of her hand. The audience that had been watching the scene play out was backing away very slowly; even Domino, for all of her bluster, was stepping back with a terrified grimace. Very, very, very hesitantly, Stella turned her head and peered over her shoulder.

Grayson, who had been sitting down with a book in his lap, as staring off into space while Stella's hand was pressed against his right cheek. The mountain-sized hunter slowly, almost mechanically, turned his eyes on Stella; he didn't say a word, but the intensity of his glare spoke volumes. The pair engaged in a long stare-off with neither one making a move from this awkward situation. Grayson turned his eyes to Stella's hand, back to the short girl, then back at the hand again. Stella nodded at the silent gesture and _slowly_ ripped her hand off his cheek. When the aspiring archaeologist took it back, there was a bright-red handprint on the side his face. Grayson glared back at Stella with a low growl.

"Okay, before you get angry," said Stella calmly, "just remember it was an acc – "

Stella was set flying across the auditorium via Grayson's fist, slamming into the wooden walls hard enough to leave an impression. There was a large intake of breath; everyone was cringing when they heard several of Stella's bones crack. The dark-haired student fell on the floor in a pile of floppy limbs.

"Hey, that was my lil' buddy, you overgrown gorilla!" snapped Honey.

The bear Faunus walked up to Grayson and threw a right hook at his chest…then held her throbbing hand with a painful whine; Grayson chortled. With a heated glare, Honey lifted her foot and brought it down directly on top of Grayson's crotch. The mountain-sized hunter's deep, gravelly voice turned to a squeaky high-pitch as he fell backward, holding himself in the afflicted injury. Honey smiled proudly at herself.

"Hey, that was my buddy!" shouted Rory Al.

The musician that no one has ever heard of ("Seriously, who is that guy?" said a random student) leapt over and swung guitar at the Bear Faunus. Honey casually sidestepped and the Rory's instrument ended up smacking Nila Wright across the face, sending her spinning to the ground. The cheetah Faunus shook her head free from the brief dizziness and flipped around, growling like a wild animal.

"You really shouldn't have done that," snarled Nila.

The auditorium devolved into absolute chaos after that.

Nila jumped Rory and sent them both tumbling into a group of students that were playing a board game, sending the pieces flying everywhere; the students threw down their cards in outrage and jumped on the pair. Nila and Rory easily dispersed the group of attackers and sent them flying in every direction, unwittingly causing more fights to break out all over the auditorium. In less than a couple minutes, everyone was just looking for someone to punch, even if they didn't have a reason for it. Honey grabbed four people in both hands, lifted them off the ground, slammed their heads together, and threw them down. Nebula deflected one person attacking her with a candlestick and flipped them over, but then someone tackled her from behind. Domino was literally dancing around the room, ducking, dodging, and weaving through the waves of attackers while casually tossing them aside with the smallest of movements.

Stella, groaning as her bones finished realigning themselves, looked around at the pandemonium she had unintentionally created.

"Holy crap, this is getting out of control," said Stella, ducking a flower vase that smacked on the wall behind her. "Maybe I should get the – "

"Hey…keep it down," Stella satred wide-eyed at Headmistress Blanche, who had been lying in one of the bedrolls with her teddy bear, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "Good girls are supposed to be napping now…. Wake me up when it's breakfast time…." She mumbled, tucking herself in.

"This is no time to be sleeping!" yelped Stella, shaking the tiny headmistress. "You need to stop the – YOWCH! SHE BITING MY FINGER! SHE BITING MY FINGER!"

Meanwhile, Olive and Tawny were tucked away against the wall out of the general fight zone while Dew was getting everyone away from them, favoring a good punch to the face for anyone that got close.

"By the way, what was the last card," Olive asked Tawny curiously.

"Oh, that would be the Tower," said Tawny amusingly, showing the card. "It's often interpreted as an impending disaster…. Stella Stratos might think twice before she calls Tawny Birch a fraud from now on."

"Wow, you're good," said Olive impressively.

* * *

 **And that should about do it for the introductory segments of the story, which means we can finally move on to the initiation and the action scene, which I'm sure is the real reason why anyone bothered to read this. I'm really hoping I did the characterizations of Grayson, Rory, Nila, and Tawny right – it's hard taking other's people's creation and remembering to follow a specific guideline. You may have already noticed that haven't brought in the members of Team MYNT just yet, but that's because the first half of the first volume is dedicated towards the first years. Team MYNT will be appearing in the second half of the volume, so don't worry.**

 **And now I'm sure a lot of people are going to be saying that Alis Blanche's appointment to headmistress is just to be played for laughs, but that's not the case. I can't explain it without giving it away, but Blanche is a very special case and you'll be seeing a…different side of her in each volume.**

 **So until next time, please read and review (I can't do right, if I don't know what I' doing wrong.)**


	5. Going Under, Part 1

**A/N: Takes place three years before RWBY Vol. 1.**

 **A/N 2: Make absolutely certain you read the trailers before starting.**

 **Vol 1, Episode 4: Going Under, Part 1**

The chaos of the auditorium had died down sometime past midnight when everyone had gotten too tired to move, or had lost consciousness. So when the morning came and the light shimmied through the window, the wooden dome was, unsurprisingly, a complete and total mess. Sleeping bags were ripped to shred, flooding the floor in feathers, candles were knocked over with burn marks on the ground to accommodate them, and various personal effects were strewn about. There had been some claw marks and scarring in the wooden walls from when the fighting got too rough, but they seemed to have miraculously healed overnight (no one was in the mood to care anyway.)

Someone moaned tiredly; it was coming from underneath a pile of unconscious bodies – the result of Honey Malaya deciding to steamroll her way through her classmates. The pile shook as the result of squirming their way underneath, and the four bodies on the top were shoved aside to create a breech for freedom. A young woman poked her head out of the pile; her brick-red hair was a Creep nest and strand of drool was clinging to the corner of her mouth (she wiped it away with the back of her hand). The crimson-haired huntress started lifting herself out of the pile but got stuck halfway. So she pulled harder and pried herself loose with a _**pop**_ , which resulted in her losing her balance and tumbling forward down the pile. She hit her floor with her bottom, which was good, but it left her very sore when she landed.

"Ow…," the woman whined softly. "They could at least put in some carpeting or throw in some extra pillows…. Hey, Gwen, you up yet? Gwen?"

The redhead looked around the auditorium. She saw some very interesting things such as the Headmistress sleeping on Stella, who was sleeping on Honey, who was sleeping, on Grayson, who was lying face down on the floor. Domino Bones was reclining on a pile of men – all of them looked very happy, even Rory Al, whose face was being used as footstool. Nila and Nebula were sleeping shoulder-to-shoulder; it looked like they both passed out when putting each other in sleeper holds. The only people who seemed untouched were Olive and Tawny Birch, who were being guarded by Dew, who was surprisingly still standing even though she had fallen asleep.

But nowhere amid the mess could she find her friend. Then a thought occurred to her and she shook her head in disbelief.

"Good Oum, Gwen, how do you do it?" the woman muttered to herself.

She groaned to herself as she stood up, cracking her back for a quick moment, then steadily walked her way to the door. When she stepped outside, she was not at all surprised to see a young woman dancing elegantly around the school fountain like a prima ballerina, her curly black hair pulled back into ringlets fluttered behind her. She wore a black corset dress with a dark gray front, purple hem and purple laces on the back. Her belt a long purple ribbon edged in gray, with a bow in the back and tied in the front, and connected to a pair of tassets. She also wore light gray stockings and pale gray ballet flats.

The dancer's eyes were closed going into a triple pirouette and stopping on the tip of her right foot with her left leg stretched behind her and her arms outstretched. She was the vision of graceful swan accented by the sunrise glimmering on the spray of the fountain behind her. She seemed so at peace…. Then the redhead started clapping and the dancer lost her balance, falling into the fountain. The ballerina glared malevolently at the redhead as she started laughing.

"Octavia…," growled the dancer in a low voice.

"I'm sorry, Gwen, I really am," said Octavia apologetically. She offered her hand, which the dancer begrudgingly accepted. "Hey, don't give me that look, it'll give you wrinkles."

"They say stress also causes wrinkles," retorted wrinkles, lifting herself out of the fountain. "Along with a long list of other negative side effects that you are the direct cause of, I'm sure."

"You wound me, Gwen," said Octavia playfully.

"If only," muttered Gwen.

"Aw, stop being such a prima donna," said Octavia, throwing her arm around the dancer's shoulder. "You should feel lucky to have such a smart, generous, and all-around wonderful sister like me sticking with you."

"Step-sister," said Gwen indifferently.

"Details, details," Octavia waved nonchalantly. "Though I am surprised to see you up and about so early in the morning. Too excited to sleep?"

"A little nervous actually," said Gwen honestly. "We have initiation in a couple hours and we'll be paired up a couple of strangers, assuming we're not the part of the majority that ends up dying like the headmistress said. I…you know I'm not good with…interacting with people."

"It took you half a year just to say two words to me when mom and dad got married," said Octavia, shaking Gwen shoulder teasingly. "It's gonna be okay, sis. No matter what happens, it'll stick with you, even if we don't end up on the same team. That's what sisters are for, ain't it?"

"I thought they were just there to be a pain in the butt," said Gwen jokingly; Octavia laughed out loud. "Okay, I feel a little better…and a little hungry," she added as she patted her rumbling belly. "I wonder if they started breakfast yet."

"I wonder what kind of food they serve at these Huntsmen schools," said Octavia thoughtfully. "It's bound to be better than the crap they served at the old school."

* * *

 _ **Plop!**_

Octavia and Gwen stared wide-eyed at the sloppy pile of gray-tan-yellow….something the old man had slapped onto their lunch trays. Gray bubbles were inflating in the toxic-looking sludge – Octavia had the idea to poke one of the bubbles with her fork, but instead of popping, the bubble at the metal utensil like it was acid. Gwen looked ready to object to the so-called 'breakfest' the cafeteria was serving, but the Old man seemed to sense their complaint and growled dangerously. Both girls wisely kept their mouths shut, cautiously stepped away from the lunch line, and started wandering the wide cafeteria for a seat.

"I didn't think it was possible, but this is even worse than the last school," said Octavia, frowning at her 'food'.

"Did you notice that old man was the same guy that runs the Dust Shoppe on Chestnut Road," said Gwen pointedly, "and the guy who owns the noodle stand on Bleak Street, and the guy who runs the arcade on Cinnabar Avenue?"

"I know, that guy is everywhere," said Octavia.

Meanwhile, Stella, Honey, and Nebula were seated somewhere halfway up the middle table examining their 'breakfast' as if it were a new species (In all likelihood, it probably was). Stella stabbed her fork into the sludge from the top, but the slop seemed to trap the fork like rubber cement. Nebula tried poking her fork through one of the bubbles, but the bubble consumed the fork, split off from the rest of the slop, and then floated away to the ceiling. Honey didn't even get the chance to test her meal portion – the sludge came to life and made a break for the door the moment they sat down.

"This is one of the many reasons why it sucks to live in a poor kingdom," said Nebula, shoving her tray away.

"I love my kingdom as much as the next girl," said Stella, also pushing away her 'food', "but there's no way I'm eating this crap."

"If you're not gonna have it," asked Grayson politely, leaning over from the next table, "can I have it?"

"Knock yourself out, Tiny," said Honey apathetically.

The mammoth of a Huntsman cleared the table with one swipe of his arm and practically shoved the trays down his throat; Rory Al and Nila Wright, who had been sitting across from him, leaned over and promptly vomited on the floor.

"Oum, I'm starving," whined Honey, flopping across the table. "I'm a growing girl; I need lots to eat."

"How can you get any bigger than you are now?" said Nebula teasingly. "Other than horizontally, that is – I'm joking! I'm joking!" she added quickly as Honey grabbed her collar.

"Ugh, I need some real food," said Stella, reclining back pathetically. "Dear Monty Oum above, give us some real food…."

At that exact moment – almost as if it were planned – Dew Gayl walked past the three Huntresses carrying a Fine Mistral plate covered with a sterling silver dome. Stella, Nebula, and Honey perked up from the smell wafting from the dish. The aroma was tantalizing, and Stella recognized the savory, sizzling scent of prime meat. The three huntress-in-training lifted themselves out of their seats as if they were in a trance and followed Dew (and the food) to the opposite side of the cafeteria.

On the far end of the room away from most of the other students, there was a small alcove in the wall that housed a single round table. The table was clothed in a pristine white sheet with fancy embroidery and decorated with two sets of sterling silver utensils, fancy folded napkins, and a candelabrum; a drastic difference from the rest of the cafeteria. It didn't come to anyone's surprise that it was Olive Evergreen sitting in the cushy high chair with her _**Love on the High Seas**_ book in one hand and a cup of aromatic tea in the other (pinky out!). She set both items aside when Dew stopped at her table and set the covered plate in front of her.

"Your breakfast, ma'am," said Dew formally as she lifted the lid. "Mistral elk steak and eggs benedict with kale, goat cheese, and roasted tomatoes picked fresh this morning."

"Really, Dew, this is too much," said Olive, sounding more disapproving than happy. "The individual table, the expensive cutlery, and the high quality meal are going way over the line. I came to Shade Academy so that I could learn how to fend for myself. That includes sharing the same breakfast as everyone else…though I won't object to the tea. Heaven knows I cannot go on without a cup of Darjeeling in the morning," she added, taking a dainty sip.

"My apologies, ma'am," said Dew properly. "But your parents just want what's best for you."

"What's best for me is to learn how to attend to myself," said Olive. "If you want to get me breakfast, then fetch a tray from the line. I'm sure someone else will enjoy this meal instead…."

It was then that Olive and Dew noticed something out of place about the table, black gloved hand sidling its way toward her plate from underneath the table. The princess glanced up at her friend, who was glaring at the offending limb. Just as the hand started to finger the edge of Olive's plate, Dew grabbed the fork off the table and stabbed it down into the back of the person's hand. The table was sent flying clear across the cafeteria as Stella shot up and cried out as she held her hand; Nebula smiled and waved nervously while Honey chased after the flying plate like a starved dog. Stella ripped the fork out of her hand – the wound sealed itself in a second. And then Dew grabbed the shorter Huntress by the collar, lifting her off the floor until they were face-to-face; Dew growled dangerously.

"Uh…I was looking for my contact?" Stella excused feebly.

"Put her down, Dew, she's just hungry is all," said Olive generously. Dew seemed reluctantly, but settled Stella back on her feet nonetheless. "Do forgive her for her overprotectiveness. She's just…well, I don't know if territorial is the proper word for this, but it's the best I can think of."

"I'll be sure to stay away from her stuff in the foreseeable future," grumbled Stella, glaring up at the amazon Huntress. "You know, you could at least say you're sorry."

"Excuse me, what did you say?" snarled Dew, leaning down to confront her.

"Nothing," said Stella quickly and quietly.

"What to go, girl, you really showed her," said Nebula sarcastically.

"Why don't we change the subject for a bit," said Olive politely, obviously trying to avoid a confrontation. "Say, do either of you know anything about the initiation or how the teams are selected? There have been rumors spreading around between the first years that the Headmistress launches students into the desert via platforms and the first person you lock eyes with ends up being your partner for the next four years. Another rumor says that we're supposed to look for artifacts hidden in the desert and come back with them alive and that the Headmistress picks teams based on which artifact you collected."

"I think you're confusing Shade for Beacon Academy," said Domino Bones, suddenly appearing out from behind Olive's chair; the princess nearly jumped out of her dress. "Yeah, every year Ozpin does the same shtick about forcing random people together without giving much thought to it. On the other hand, back home in Atlas, teams were chosen based on status. The rich teamed up with the rich, and the poor teamed up with the poor. It's their way of defining a caste system for the Kingdom."

"So you're from Atlas," said Stella in a low voice.

"I hear some hostility in your voice," said Domino, smiling smugly. "Don't like Atlas, huh? Well, can't say I blame you. The entire kingdom is centered on a bunch of people with too much power making all the rules and decided who deserves what. It's one of the many reasons I left."

"Not everyone from Atlas is bad," argued Olive. "I have a friend, Winter, that's from Atlas and she's one of the nicest people I've ever met, albeit she can be a little strict."

"Yeah, well, don't go expecting everyone from Atlas to be the same way," said Domino with a waving gesture as she leaned against the chair.

"Since you seem to know so much about Beacon and Atlas's initiations," said Nebula, "what do you know about Shade's?"

"Not much, truth be told," said Domino, shrugging her shoulders. "I know the Headmistress takes all the new students to some place way out in the desert and leaves them to themselves. Not sure how the teams are selected either, but I did hear one rumor that bothers me."

"A rumor?" repeated Stella curiously.

"They say that out of all four Hunting Academies," said Domino slowly, "Shade Academy has the highest death toll. Apparently, seventeen years ago, Shade Academy didn't have any new students because all one hundred and sixteen recruits were killed during the initiation – some people even started calling it the Red Sand School."

With the visor covering her eyes, Stella couldn't get the sense whether Domino was telling the truth or just trying to rattle them for kicks – she seemed like the type that would do the latter. In truth, Stella had heard of many rumors surrounding Shade Academy, and not all of them were they kind you would tell others over a friendly drink. And when she thought about yesterday's opening ceremony, Headmistress Blanche had made it very clear that many people had died in previous years and that they were responsible for their own lives. Stella was confident in her ability to stay alive thanks to her unique semblance, and Nebula was more than accustomed to life and death situations, given her family's background. But Olive looked very rattle, and it was understandable.

"Did the teachers just really let them all die?" asked Olive worriedly.

"You heard what the little bunny girl said," Domino spoke in an uncaring tone. "The staff ain't gonna treat us like we're special. They're expecting us to solve our own problems, and that includes staying alive for…whatever the hell they have planned for us."

"Oh my…," said Olive softly.

"Don't worry, ma'am," said Dew in an assuring voice, casually tossing Stella aside ("Hey!" shrieked Stella) and kneeling to the princess. "As long as you stick with me, ma'am, I promise I won't let any danger come to you. I will guarantee that we end up on the same team together."

"Well, aren't you a regular knight in shining combat skirt," said Nebula jokingly, purposely ignoring Dew's heated glare.

"Ending up on the same team together?" scoffed Domino. "Yeah, good luck with that."

" _ **Would all first-year students please report to the courtyard to await initiation? Again, all first-year students report to the courtyard immediately.**_ "

"Whelp, that's us," said Domino, pushing off and walking away. "Good luck to you. I have a feeling you'll need it."

"It was nice talking to you," Olive said politely to Stella and Nebula before Dew pulled her away. "Let's do it again sometime!"

Stella and Nebula waved good bye to the olive-skinned princess while more than half of the cafeteria started heading toward the main doors while the other half starting talking amongst each other in hushed tones. They must have been the older students. The aspiring archaeologist had a good idea what they were talking about judging by the way few of them were glancing at the first years with pity in their eyes. That was right around the time when Honey finally came back carrying mashed bits of what Stella and Nebula were hoping was Olive's fancy breakfast; the bear Faunus's cheeked were stuffed like a chipmunk.

"What'd I miss," said Honey, unintentionally spraying both girls in food chunks. "…Sorry."

"Never mind," mumbled Stella, wiping the meat and egg off her face. "C'mon, let's go get ourselves killed."

Stella and Nebula joined the crowd headed for the courtyard. Honey looked back and forth between the mashed bits of steak and eggs in her hands before tossing them over her shoulder and chased after them.

* * *

After they had gathered in the courtyard, Headmistress Blanche and Sinclair lead the escort trip into the Endless Desert west of Shade Academy (actually, it was more like Sinclair was leading and Blanche was strapped to his back playing with her Scroll). They had spent an hour crossing the waves of sand and pushing through the harsh winds before they reached their destination: Mt. Sable. Based on what Stella read from her father's journals, Mt. Sable was the tallest sand dune in all of Vacuo and it nearly rivaled Mount Glenn in height. It took just as long to reach the top of the mountain as it did to reach it – thankfully there was a set path along the side to make the trek faster and easier.

Headmistress Blanche unstrapped herself from her older assistant and stowed the Scroll when everyone reached the top of the sand dune. She ordered everyone to bunch together into a circle in the middle – an odd order if they ever heard one, but the cluttered together nonetheless. Stella procured a spot at the edge of the circle facing Headmistress Blanche and Sinclair with Honey standing behind her next to Grayson and Nebula on her right side. When she looked around to look for Olive, she saw Domino sitting on Grayson's left shoulder while Rory Al sat on his right – the tall man did not look pleased. Tawny Birch was standing on the opposite side of Nebula, and on the other side of Tawny Birch was Nila Wright, who was still nursing a bruise from last night's fight. Olive and Dew were standing not too far away alongside a pair of girls Stella had not met yet.

Looks like the gang's all here, she thought musingly.

"Welcome to Mount Sable, everybody!" said Headmistress Blanche cheerfully with open arms. "Since Shade Academy was founded eight years ago, Mount Sable has been an important spot in our school's history. This is the place where new students come to test themselves to see if they have what it takes to be full-fledged Hunters. Now, I'm sure you've been hearing rumors about how lots of people have been killed or mutilated during our school's initiation, and about how the entire first year class was wiped out seventeen years ago. Well, allow me to put your worries to rest…all of them are true."

"Oh, that makes me feel so much better," said Nebula sarcastically.

"There's also been a wide spread rumor on how teams are selected," Sinclair chimed in. "Here at Shade Academy, we understand the difficulty of working with strangers and how conflicting personalities can hurt rather than help your team should the situation arise. That is why we will be having you select your own teammates."

"Huh?" said Nila

"What?" said Octavia.

"Come again, mate," said Rory.

"Let me break it down for you," said Headmistress Blanche as she took a deep breath.

"No rapping, Headmistress," said Sinclair sternly.

"Party pooper," mumbled Headmistress Blanche, deflated. "I had this whole song ready, but we'll do it the _boring_ way. What's going to happen is that the staff will be monitoring your progress through your Scrolls and evaluating your performance based on strength, cunning, and most importantly, your ability to work with others. We will decide among those who survive the initiation who is best suited to be team leaders. It'll then be up to the team leader to decide who they want on their team. So not only do you have to pay attention to your own progress, but you should also be watching the other students to figured out who is best suited to work with you. Anyone here could end up being picked as team leader, so it's important to pay close attention."

"Hey, bunny girl," said Domino rudely. "You keep talking about surviving and partnering up, but we don't even know what we're supposed to be doing."

"We were getting to that," said Sinclair, leering through his glasses. "And get down from there, both of you. We are in the middle of a very important session and you are expected to stand proper."

Domino scoffed and dropped down with Rory Al. Neither one seemed to notice that the sand somehow went up to their ankles instead of being a flat, solid surface.

"Concerning the trial ahead," said Sinclair, pushing up his glasses, "you will be dropped into the test grounds. From there, you will each have to find a way to escape while fighting any opposition along the way, whether it be the Grimm or another student. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path…or you will die."

"So you keep telling us," said Grayson.

"As we said before, you will be monitored through the duration of your initiation," said Sinclair, "but as the Headmistress pointed out yesterday, we will not intervene. If you are trapped or corner by Grimm, we _will_ leave you to die. Once you have found your way out of the testing grounds safely, you will then make your final journey through the desert back to Shade Academy's courtyard. Your standings will be determined after everyone has either made it back to the school or is dead. Are there any questions?"

"I have one," said Olive, raising her hand politely. "You said you were dropping us into the testing grounds. Does that mean you taking us somewhere? Are we up here waiting for some Bullheads of something?"

"Oh no, we're literally dropping you in," said Headmistress Blanche giddily.

"You're not gonna push off the side of the mountain, are you?" asked Octavia worriedly.

"Oh, this is much worse than being pushed off a mountain," said Headmistress Blanche, chuckling.

"Hey…," Honey said to Stella. "Did you get taller?"

The short Huntress-in-training turned around with a gasp; a fresh wave of joy suddenly fluttering in her chest. When she looked back, she discovered that she was indeed standing a foot taller than the Bear Faunus. Stella pumped her fists into the air with a jubilant cheer.

"YES! MY TIME HAS COME AT LAST!" Stella screamed to the heavens. And not a moment later, Stella suddenly seemed to get shorter again. "Wait a minute…."

The aspiring archaeologist looked down at her feet and realized with a horrified gasp that she wasn't getting shorter – she was sinking! The Headmistress had led them into quicksand! The stark realization started to catch up with the rest of the students when they realized that Sinclair and the diminutive bunny girl were getting suspiciously taller. Within minutes, there was a frenzy of activity as every hunter and huntress scrambled over one another trying to tear themselves away from the sand trap. But the mountain top was devoid of anything they could grab on and both Sinclair and the Headmistress were purposely standing out of arm's length.

The taller and heavier students such as Grayson and Honey sank faster than the others and people like Rory Al latched onto them like buoys – this only made them sink faster. Some like Dew and Octavia tried slashing away the sand, but only resulted in getting their weapons caught in the process. Domino added a grappling hook attachment to her pistol (admittedly, Stella thought that was cool) and shot at the bank near Sinclair and Blanche, but the hook wouldn't dig in. Tawny Birch, of course, made no effort to struggle, seemingly accepting her fate. Nila tried using Freeze Dust to solidify the quicksand, and it worked for a quick second, but the desert heat melted the ice in the blink of an eye and Nila became the first person to sink through.

One by one, the students started slipping through the sand until Stella was one of the few left struggling. The short Huntress was clawing at the sand like a wild animal trying to pull herself away from the center of the pit and toward the headmistress. She struggled with everything she had and it seemed like she would reach the bank. Headmistress Blanche held up her pocket watch, clicked the button on top, and Stella suddenly found herself back where she started. Stella didn't have time to comprehend what had happened before the quick sand swallowed her whole.

And then there was only two standing at the top of Mount Sable – all the students had been taken under.

"So, what's the pool looking like?" asked Headmistress Blanche.

"Hmm," hummed Sinclair, pulling out his Scroll. "Professor Stratos wagers at least half will survive, Professor Spruce wagers that less the eight will survive, and Professor Onyx wagers that more than thirty will survive. Professor Galliano is still recovering from his hangover, so he didn't make any bets."

"Put me down for less than twenty," said Headmistress Blanche, flashing her Lien.

"At once, Headmistress," said Sinclair.

* * *

 **I'm not going bother putting down a post script since I know people don't bother to read it, as proven in my last update of Kingdom RWBY. Just say which of these teams you want to focus on in the next chapter: SHDO, NDGO, or GRNT.**


	6. Going Under, Part 2

**A/N: Seriously no love for SHDO right now, is there?**

 **Vol 1, Episode 5: Going Under, Part 2**

Falling through a layer of quicksand into a dark pit that looked like it had been carved out by a fifty foot worm falling alongside a hundred other Huntsmen-in-training was not the way Nebula imagined her day starting out. But thanks to their child-sized headmistress and her (admittedly) handsome assistant – well, you get the idea. The violet-haired huntress had been pulled under the sand trap somewhere in the middle so there were dozens of trainees below her and several more falling behind her – it sounded like Stella was the last to fall through. The swarms of aspiring Huntsmen must have fallen close to twenty or thirty feet before the pit started to slant into a diagonal tunnel. The prospective students hit the sand-laced surface and started sliding along with the momentum deeper into the tunnel.

Nebula winced painfully when she belly flopped into the sand and skimmed the surface on her front. Nebula had lost control of her direction and her current position made her slide much faster than everyone else, causing her to bump into several students and knock them off course. Nebula rolled onto her back ("In retrospect, sliding backwards into the unknown was probably not the best idea," Nebula would admit in the days to come), and whipped out her crossbow, the Shooting Star. She shot an arrow with a rope attached at the higher walls of the tunnel, but the entire surface consisted only of sand and could not anchor itself, becoming dislodged the moment Nebula tugged at it.

Not too far away from Nebula, Octavia Ember rolled over on her back and grounded her feet into the floor, but it didn't serve much to stop her momentum, only slow her down slightly. That seemed to be her intention as the redheaded Huntress extended her arm outward, which was snatched up by her sister. Gwen Darcy had been sliding along the tunnel on the tip of her toes similar to the way of an ice dancer, slipping around the waves of bodies until she spotted her step-sister, grabbed her extended hand, and pulled her up. With her sister's help, Octavia started to stand on her feet and held a firm grip on Gwen's hand as the dancer guided them both safely through the sliding tunnel.

And even further below the tunnel, Dew Gayl was sliding sideways with both her feet digging into the hand and supported herself by her left hand, not taking into consideration for the sand tearing up her skin. Her eyes were focused solely on Olive. The elegant huntress was riding the sand atop her aura shield like a surfboard – she was very imaginative, Dew though. But when she looked down he sliding tunnel, Dew suddenly realized that everyone was headed towards a solid rock wall, and burrowed into that rock wall were several dozen tunnels burrowed into the surface, creating a tunneling system that led in multiple directions. She and Olive would be separated – that was considering they didn't splatter all over the rocks first.

"Ma'am, quickly!" yelled Dew urgently, reaching for Olive. "Grab my hand!"

Olive tilted sideways and extended her arm toward Dew. But just when they were within inches of touching fingertips, Nebula suddenly zoomed in from out of nowhere and knocked Dew's head with her own, causing them both to become temporarily disoriented. Nebula and Dew began spinning out of control and fumbling one another's bodies, moving further and further away from Olive.

"Dew!" cried Olive fretfully.

The Amazonian Huntress blinked to clear the spots from her vision. She tilted her head up and saw Olive's face one last time before she and Nebula fell through one of the separating tunnels.

"Miss!" screamed Dew.

While Dew was reaching out for a girl that wasn't there anymore, Nebula flipped to her front and gasped. They were reaching the end of the tunnel, which opened up to a large drop. The violet-haired woman quickly reloaded the arrow in her crossbow just as she and Dew were sent flying over the edge. Nebula reacted fast, throwing her arm around Dew's waist, pulling her close, and fired off the arrow toward the ceiling. The archer let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in when the bolt anchored itself into the stone ceiling and the rope went taut, keeping one hand in a vice grip around her weapon while the other secured her new partner.

Both huntresses took a moment to catch their breath and looked down. They were suspended thirty feet above what looked to be a bunch of dilapidated old ruins half buried in sand. It looked like a lot of old junk had been tossed around and some of the crumbling walls had some ancient paintings drawn on them; Stella would love this place, thought Nebula.

"Well, at least the view is…almost nice," said Nebula playfully.

"Put me down!" growled Dew, thrashing around in Nebula's arm. "I have to find Olive at once! Let me down this instant!"

"You're welcome," said Nebula, giving Dew a blank stare.

Nebula pushed forward on Shooting Star's trigger, lengthening the rope so that it lowered them closer to the ground until they were only a few feet off. The violet-haired huntress clicked a hidden switch on the side of her crossbow and cut the rope, dropping both women safely on their feet. Nebula replaced the weapon in her bandolier when Dew suddenly broke into a heated brisk walk back over to the wall they had fallen out of. The Amazonian huntress started clawing at the surface of the wall, only capable of getting a few feet off the ground before the rock would break of and bring her back down to Remnant. She tried again…and again…and again…. Nebula's eyes slanted in a blank look with one hand on her hip, shaking her head in slow disappointment.

"What're you doing?" asked Nebula dully.

"I have to get back to the miss," said Dew with a tone of urgency. "So could be in grave danger without my knowing."

"We might also be in grave danger too, ya know," said Nebula pointedly.

"I could care less about what happens to you," said Dew sharply.

"Ok…that's hurtful," Sid Nebula, speaking to herself in a small tone, then voiced her thought to Dew. "You won't be able to get up there. The whole thing is made from pure sandstone – it's too fragile to climb and you could tear lots of layers apart very easily if you climb barehanded. Every layer you tear off makes the structure weaker. Try climbing it too many times and you could cause a good portion of it to come crashing down on top of us."

"And how do you know that?" asked Dew.

"It may not look like it, but I actually pay attention to what Stel says – figured it might be useful in the future," said Nebula with a cocky grin. "If you're so desperate to find Olive, then you'd be better off helping me find a way out of this sand trap. Those tunnels we fell through had to mean that there are other caverns like this one, and that also means they must be connected somehow. I'm sure if we cling to the walls, we'll find another tunnel that leads to the rest of this…ant farm."

"Ant farm?" Dew repeated with a raised brow.

"For lack of a better term," said Nebula, shrugging her shoulders.

The Amazonia huntress bit her lip in thought, looking down at her feet for the longest time before turning to Nebula with an inquisitive stare. After a minute or two of thinking, Dew gave a silent nod and started walking forward along the wall without even sparing a second glance. The violet-haired huntress watched her new partner walk away, ruffling her hair and letting out an exaggerated sigh before trailing behind. Nebula wouldn't lie if she said she was disappointed with the arrangement; she had figured her and Stella would work something out and pass the initiation together. Oh well, Nebula thought, if either one of them ended up as team leaders, they could guarantee that they'd end up on the same team together. So for now, she was going to put up with Dew's anti-social attitude a little longer.

Speaking of whom, the Amazonian huntress was walking in great strides around the edge of the cavern that Nebula had to take three steps at a time to match her pace. Not that she was going to complain. Dew's personality left much to be desired, but Nebula couldn't stop staring at those toned and slender legs of hers. When the pair came up to a massive pillar covered in pictographs that had fallen in front of their path, Dew was the first to climb over and Nebula was blessed with a few short seconds of watching the Amazonian's skirt hike up an extra few inches, exposing more of her smooth, coppery skin. Nebula had dated a couple men and women in her time, but none of them had legs like Dew Gayl; that kind of sexiness should be considered illegal, Nebula thought to herself as Dew helped pull her over.

The duo jumped down on the other side of the monolith and continued walking. Had Nebula not been so distracted by Dew's criminally sexy legs, she would have noticed the sand beneath her feet starting to shift the further she walked.

"So…what's going on between you and Olive," asked Nebula in feign innocence. "You two seem awfully close. Are you…together? Like, together-together?"

"My relationship with the miss is strictly plutonic," said Dew uninterestingly. "I am simply looking out for her well-being. I'm not sure if you have noticed, but despite all her efforts to prove that she can 'rough it with the best', the miss has no experience when it comes to doing things on her own."

"So, what? You're her babysitter?" said Nebula with a raised brow; once again, she failed to notice the shifting sand beneath her feet. "Don't you think that might be a little…counterproductive for a huntress-in-training?

"The miss is a very capable huntress," Dew defended. "She was trained by her mother, one of the best Huntresses in Mistral. When it comes to fighting, I'm certain the miss is more than capable of defending herself. It's her social life that's the problem. The miss's father was very overprotective of his daughter and rarely allowed her to interact with the other children. She doesn't understand the social norms. The Grimm are of little consequence; it's the people who would look to take advantage of the miss's naivety that concern me."

"Okay, I can totally understand that," said Nebula; the sand was starting to rise behind her legs. "So, if you and Olive aren't together-together – HOLY CRAP!" she shouted at the end as she was lifted off the ground by her boot.

Dew spun around with a gasp as a large Death Stalker rose from the bed of sand, dangling her violet-haired companion upside-down from one of its pincers. While Nebula flailed around in the Grimm's grip, seemingly trying to reach around for her crossbow, Dew pulled back her skirt that exposed her thighs ("Dem legs doe," said Nebula with a wolf whistle) and pulled off the weapon strapped to her left. It looked like a golden anchor with a jewel embedded through the tip with a strip of fabric tied to the whole, but Dew flicked her wrist and the anchor extended into a spear.

The Death Stalker turned its ten eyes away from the pray dangling in its claws, took notice of the spear tipped its way, deemed Dew as a threat, and jabbed its stinger at the huntress. The Amazonian warrior twirled her spear in a rapidly fast motion, almost like a golden blur, and deflected the stinger away into the wall of the crumbling building next to them. Dew stopped spinning and tightened her grip with both hands before stabbing the spear through the joint where the stinger and tail connected. The Death Stalker screeched and pulled back its limb when at the same time Dew pulled her weapon through the Grimm's skin. With the two forces pulling at opposite ends, the joint was easily ripped apart and the Death Stalker's stinger was thrown haphazardly into the sand.

The Death Stalker screeched and flailed as the pain of losing its tail coursed through its nervous system, making it that much more difficult for Nebula to reach her crossbow. But she did eventually manage to grab hold of the Shooting Star and fired off a bolt without taking the time to aim first. Whether it was skill or dumb luck, the arrow pierced one of the Death Stalker's smaller eyes in the middle; orange blood dripping through its punctured socket. The Grimm loosened its pincer and dropped Nebula, who flipped around and landed safely in a kneeling position. She then took aim and shot the eye opposite of the one she already pricked, just so they would match.

"Just our luck that we run into a matured Death Stalker," said Nebula, reloading the bolt. "Well, at least you already took out its tail. That leaves us with fewer problems to deal with."

"Matured or not, it's still only a minor annoyance," said Dew, sounding both disappointed and impatient. "Let's just kill the pest so we can get back to looking for the miss."

"So let me get this straight," said Nebula, looking to Dew with a raised brow. "You consider a fully matured Death Stalker – six meters long, four hundred pounds, three feet of thick armor plating – a 'minor annoyance'…. Damn, girl, what Grimm have you been fighting?"

"It's coming," said Dew, narrowing her eyes and moving into a defensive position.

The Death Stalker snapped its pincers threateningly, lowered its armored head, and scuttled across the sandy cavern on its little legs after the pair. Though Nebula raised the Shooting Star at the Grimm, Dew stepped in front to block her shot. Before the violet-haired huntress could complain, Dew tipped the point of her spear to the sand and slowly turned it around and around in a spiral motion. The sand started to kick up in the same pattern, growing with each rotation until it spread high enough to become a full-blown dust devil. Dew stabbed her spear ahead and commanded the dust devil to meet the Grimm halfway. Nebula watch on in bewilderment as the winds picked up the four hundred pound scorpion, spun it around like a rag doll, and tossed it across the cavern.

As it was soaring through the air, Nebula shook her head, mentally shouting at herself to 'get her head in the game', and lined her sight up with Shooting Star's bolt channel. Nebula fired off eight consecutive arrows. Each bolt snapped through the joints of each of the Death Stalker's legs, effectively removing the limbs. The Death Stalker landed on its back, flailing its pincers and mutilated legs in the air. Without its limbs to support itself, the most the Grimm could do was squirm around on the ground. It'd be funny, Nebula thought, if it wasn't so disgusting.

Dew once again stepped forward and threw the spear with all her might, driving the weapon deep into the Death Stalker's underbelly. The Death Stalker's squealing was short, it' limbs frozen temporarily, and then it went limp; the black cloud of the Grimm's eventual dissolving wafted from the wound. Dew said nothing as she walked over and mercilessly ripped the spear out of the Grimm's body. Nebula also joined her, looking the massive scorpion up and down with an impressed whistle.

"Damn, girl, you do some fine work," said Nebula with praise. "Where'd you learn that little tornado trick? I that your semblance, or were you using some kind of…wind…Dust…."

Nebula's words trailed off when she realized that Dew wasn't even listening. The Amazonian huntress seemed to have found the entrance tunnel beyond the Death Stalker's decaying corpse and walked away from her partner back straight and not even sparing a passing glance at her traveling companion. Nebula frowned, ruffling a hand through her windswept hair, and made a disappointed moaning noise in the back of her throat.

"Why do all the hot guys and girls have to be so anti-social?" Nebula muttered to herself before she called out to Dew. "Hey, hold up! You're not seriously leaving me behind, are ya, Dew? Dew? Dew, I know you can hear me! DEW!"

* * *

Meanwhile, far from Nebula and Dew….

The step-sisters Gwen and Octavia had been sliding along the spiraling channel much longer than any of the pother initiates – it seemed like they had chosen a tunnel that went much deeper below the mountain. If Gwen was guessing correctly, they might actually be getting close to the base of Mount Sable, which worked out well for them because logic dictated that there should at least be an exit tunnel at the bottom. There had to be a tunnel at the bottom, right? Headmistress Blanche wouldn't send them into the caverns without a way of getting back, right…. Gwen did not have a good feeling about their chances.

But while Gwen was worrying herself to death over their future prospects, Octavia looked bored out of her mind. They had been sliding for more the five minutes and while Gwen was trained to stand on her toes for extensive period of time – the perks of a professional ballerina – Octavia was getting tired. So somewhere along the way, Octavia let go of her step-sister's hand, planted herself on her butt, pulled her legs up to her chest with her chin resting on her knees, and stared with a bored look down the seemingly endless tunnel.

"Are we there yet?" whined Octavia.

"You are seriously not about to start that, are you?" said Gwen, glaring at her step-sister.

"But this is taking forever," grumbled Octavia. "I bet the other groups have already found their places and are fighting Grimm right now."

"I can't speak for both of us," said Gwen, "but I'm personally happy that we haven't come across any Grimm yet. At the rate we are moving, we should be getting closer to the bottom of the mountain, which means that there is a good chance we'll be able to find the exit quicker. That's what's important right now – getting out of here alive. Not worrying about being overrun by swarms of Grimm. Don't give me that look, Octavia – " she said pointed to her step-sister's pout – "I never wanted to become a huntress because I wanted to go looking for a fight. I did because I wanted to protect yo – I mean, nothing."

"You were about to say you wanted to protect me," said Octavia with a knowing smirk.

"N-no, I wasn't," sputtered Gwen, turning red as her sister's hair.

"Aw, does someone have a sister complex?" said Octavia teasingly.

"Shut up!" snapped Gwen embarrassingly.

"If you ever get lonely at night, you can cuddle up with your big sister," said Octavia with her arms open. Gwen turned on her toes and kicked a pile of sand at Octavia's face, which she dodged. "Okay, okay, I'll stop teasing you…. Hey, you think they were serious when they said more than half the people die during initiation?"

Before the dancer could vocalize a response, they realized that the sand slide was starting to level out, which meant that they were about to reach the bottom. Gwen turned herself sideways to slow her traction while Octavia stood up and did the same. They reached the opening at the end of the lengthy tunnel and came to a stop in the middle of…well, neither Gwen nor Octavia knew what to call it – a graveyard, maybe? The cavern was twice as large as the school auditorium filled by a sea of dead black trees. Gwen was curious as to how any trees could grow underneath a mountain without sunlight until she moved close to one and realized that they weren't made of wood, but from a quartz-like mineral. And the worse part – the part that made Octavia shiver behind her younger sibling – were the bodies hanging from the branches. There must have been well over three hundred; most of them were reduced to skeletons while others looked like they were halfway through the decaying process.

Gwen and Octavia made nervous throaty noises when they looked to one another.

"Does that answer your question?" said Gwen.

"Unfortunately, yes," said Octavia nervously. Knowing they couldn't stand around forever, both sisters hesitantly started walking through the graveyard forest. "Holy crap, what the hell is wrong with this place? Why are there so many bodies hanging around here?"

"They're probably the initiates Headmistress Blanche was talking about," said Gwen, keeping her eyes forward and away from the corpses. "What probably happened is that the Grimm killed them, then brought them down here and hanged them like trophies or for something else."

"Why didn't the Grimm didn't just eat them?" asked Octavia curiously. "Seems like a lot of work just to drag down tons of bodies to the lowest part of the mountain."

"As far as current studies go, the Grimm don't need to eat to survive," said Gwen knowledgeably. "In fact, some scientists believe that not only are the Grimm attracted to negative emotions like hate and sadness, but it's also how they manage to survive for hundreds of years, feeding off people's feelings. That's why no one has even been capable of holding Grimm in captivity for so long – the lack of negative emotions causes them to die of hunger."

"And the bodies?" asked Octavia.

"These people must have experience great fear and sadness when they died," said Gwen. "The Grimm must have brought them down here so they can feed off of their lingering sentiments. You can feel it, can't you – the depressing and frightening atmosphere in this place."

"Yeah…it makes my skin crawl," said Octavia softly. "Let's just get out of here before any more…collectors come to make a deposit."

"I think we're a little late for that," said Gwen.

The step-sisters stopped in their tracks from the skittering noises echoing through the many tunnels that led to the cavern. Gwen and Octavia quickly ducked behind and pressed their backs against one of the quartz trees, cautiously peeking around the blackened trunk.

More than a dozen ant-like Grimm crawled from the tunnels both ground level and above them - Antlions, Gwen spoke to her half-sister in a hushed tone. The Grimm were just a few inches shorter than term in height, but they were twelve feet in length covered in shiny, jet-black exoskeletons with bone-like plating common among the Grimm covering their faces and thoraxes. Drooping antennas peeking through their masks, a pair of serrated mandibles underneath their bulbous yellow eyes, and their six skinny legs twitching so erratically that Gwen had to fight down her shudder. Octavia personally had to cover her mouth with her hands to conceal her gasp when she saw what was dangling from their mouths.

"Those are students," hissed Octavia in a silent panic. "I recognize some of them from the sleep over last night…. You think they're…?"

"The Grimm wouldn't bother bringing them back if they were alive," said Gwen, biting her lip. She watched the Antlions start to rearrange the bodies on the trees, making sure they were hanged properly. "This is too much – I don't want to be here anymore. Can we please go?"

"As much as I'd like to, sis," said Octavia with a frown, peeking around again, "but unless you're willing to climb up the way we came from, the only way out is through the tunnels past the Grimm."

"And that means we have to fight our way through," said Gwen, grimacing.

"I can try to draw their attention while you make a run for it," said Octavia, reaching for her belt.

"Uh-uh, no way I'm leaving you behind!" said Gwen sharply, glaring at her sister for even suggesting it. "If we're going to get out of here, we're going to do it together!"

"Aw, you really do have a sister complex," said Octavia teasingly; Gwen looked so adorable with her puffed out red cheeks, even if she was glaring. "All right, all right, I'll make fun of you _after_ we get out this creepy mountain alive. So, what are you thinking? Fire Dance?"

"As good a plan as any," said Gwen, nodding.

Octavia drew her weapon from her belt – a dagger with a distinctive wavy blade and red markings running down the center – and Gwen drew a handful of knives from the slots of her plated combat skirt. The sister looked to one another, nodded in confirmation of their plan, and Octavia held up three fingers…then two…then one…. When the final finger dropped, Octavia and Gwen twisted around the tree and broke into a run toward the warm of Antlions with a furious battle cry.

The Grimm cluster pivoted around in what could be assumed as shock, dropping the bodies they had not yet decorated the trees with, and let out a chorus of hissing noises. The Antlion stampeded over the bodies of their victims, attacking in a united front against the intruders with their mandibles snapping loud enough to echoing in the cavern. The Grimm swarm was halfway across the grotto when Octavia bounced in front of her sister and swiped her kris blade through the air. A cloud of red Dust spilled from the tip of the blade, lacing the sand in a crooked line, and a wall of fire roared to life; the Antlions stopped just short of the flaming barrier.

Gwen stepped forward in front of her sister, spinning on her tiptoe like a true dancer, swinging her arms outward with the knives firmly locked between her fingers. On the first rotation, she threw the knives in her right hand, and then tossed the blades in her left hand on the second rotation. Gwen knives passed through the wall of flame, coating them in wisps of fire, and stabbed six of the Antlions between the eyes. Though the knives themselves didn't do much damage due to their armored plating, the additional fire coating from Octavia's wall rippled down the Grimm's bodies, completely covering them in raging fire. The six Antlion screeched as their bodies were swiftly turned to ash; Octavia and Gwen shared a high-five.

The remaining Antlions quickly learned from the experience and crawled around the fire wall, forming a circle around the sister and trapping them from all sides. Gwen and Octavia moved back-to-back. While the dancer maintained a composed expression, her redheaded sister smirked confidently, looked over her shoulder, and said:

"Meteor Shower?"

"Meteor Shower," said Gwen in confirmation.

Octavia dropped down into a kneeling stance while Gwen pivoted on her heel, used her sister's back as a springboard, and jumped high into the air. All the Antlions were looking at her, which meant they weren't watching Octavia and her kris, which was glowing an ominous orange-red. Gwen reached the peak of her jump and started to feel gravity pull her back to remnant was when the dancing Huntress brought her hands together over her head and extended one leg outward, beginning a series of fast pirouettes. Though Gwen looked graceful as a swan, her performance was not just for show – with each rotation, the knives slipped through the slots in her plated combat dress in every direction.

When the shower of knives began to fall, Octavia shot up and spun around with her dagger swinging, spreading a cloud of red Dust over the heads of the Antlions. Gwen's knives passed through the red Dust and ignited into flaming projectiles raining down over the Grimm. Because Gwen had no control over the direction of the knives' trajectory, some of the flaming weapons merely exploded on the ground harmlessly. But the attack was so wide spread and the Grimm were such large targets that it was nearly impossible not to land their targets. Some Antlions were stabbed through the thorax and exploded instantly, some lost their legs in the explosions and fell over before more would stab their underbellies, and one knife didn't go off, but it slipped through the eye socket in the Antlion's mask, killing it instantly.

Gwen stopped spinning when she landed next to her step-sister ad locked around at the chaos they created. Over a dozen Grimm corpses were fading out of existence and there were several pit fires in the sand – they also caught a whiff of a putrid burning smell and both decided they didn't want to look for it.

"I never get tired of that trick," said Octavia, clapping her hands after a job well done.

"I do," said Gwen, bending over holding her knees for support. "I'm fine on the ground, but when I have to perform that many pirouettes in the air, it makes my stomach feel…ooh, I think my breakfast is about to come back."

"It can only taste better coming up than down," said Octavia.

"Not funny, Octavia," groaned Gwen. "Not funny…ooh…."

Gwen looked like she was really about to throw up and Octavia pulled out her Scroll, never one to pass up a little sisterly teasing. But as her finger hovered over the record button, the redhead suddenly looked over her shoulder when a skittering noise reached her ear. Octavia was taken by surprise when a lone surviving Antlion – it's armor cracked and dying flames licking its raw-red skin – knocked her out of the way and made a direct path for Gwen. The dancing huntress was so upset to her stomach that she didn't move away in time before the Antlion tackled her to the ground and pinned her arms with its own legs. The Antlion snapped its mandibles and stabbed at Gwen's head; the dancer tilted to the right to dodge. The Antlion attacked again and Gwen tilted to the left.

Octavia crawled up to her hands and knee, wincing from the bruise she knew was forming on her shoulder, and look around. Spying the Grimm trying to make a meal of her step-sister, Octvaia gnashed her teeth in fury and narrowed her eyes into a heated glare.

"Get your stinking antenna off my sister, you damn dirty ant!" snarled Octavia.

A red spot appeared inexplicably on the side of the Antlion's head, growing to cover the entire right half of its face and puffs of smoke started to waft from the spot. Gwen saw this and quickly covered her head with her arms before the Antlion's head exploded on top of her.

The dancing Huntress groaned because of the chucks of Antlion meat that splattered all over her dress – Octavia was lucky that Grimm pieces evaporate when they die, thought Gwen. Speaking of whom, the redheaded woman quickly ran over, shoved the fading Antlion corpse off, pulled her sister to her feet, and started brushing her off while taking short, panicked breaths.

"Are you all right? Are you hurt?" asked Octavia, speaking a mile a minutes "Did that oum-damn do anything to you? Oh Oum, if only I had been paying atten – "

"Octavia, I'm fine," said Gwen, grasping her step-sister by the shoulders. "You killed it before it could even touch me. You saved me. Thank you."

"Yeah…well…that's what big sisters are for, right?" said Octavia, finally starting to calm down. "You know there's no way I'd let anything happen to you, right?"

"I know," said Gwen, staring down the Antlion corpse. "You know, that's the first time I've ever seen you use your Combustion semblance for something other than making popcorn."

"Hey, you know I make the best popcorn in all of Remnant!" said Octavia proudly.

"I'm sure you did," said Gwen, giggling lightly. "C'mon, Popcorn Queen, we still need to find the exit. I'm sure one of these tunnels must…be…a way…out…."

Taking another look around the cavern, the step-sisters only now realized how much noise they had been making. Antlions numbering something close to a hundred were starting to emerge from the tunnels, some of them carrying the bodies of other unfortunate initiates. The Grimm looked to the fading bodies of their brethren and then back to Gwen and Octavia – the ant-like monsters hissed softly.

"Aw, crap," muttered Gwen.

* * *

Nebula and Dew slid down the sandy ramp from the latest empty cavern that they had come from and found themselves at yet another crossroad – that must have been the third time in the last twenty minutes. There were eight tunnels leading in every direction, though they could rule out the one they just came from, limiting their choice to seven paths. While Dew turned in circles on her feet, frowning with uncertainty, Nebula peeked down one of the tunnel that opened a path downward with her hand on her chin thoughtfully.

"I think we should go down this way," said Nebula, gesturing over her shoulder. "The closer we get to the bottom, the more likely we'll be able to find a way out of the mountain. That's considering the Grimm didn't block the tunnels like the last two."

"I'm not looking for a way out," said Dew harshly. "I'm looking for the miss."

"Yeah, yeah, I get that," said Nebula indifferently. "But we can't just keep running around in circles hoping to find her – do you know how big this mountain is? It would take us days to map out the entire place, and I'm betting there're hundreds of Grimm swarming the tunnels looking for fresh meat. And besides, how do you know that Olive hasn't already made it out?"

"I can't leave without knowing the miss is safe!" said Dew firmly.

"Are you not listening to me?" said Nebula exasperatedly. "I just said she might – wait, do you hear that?" – she suddenly cut herself off and both girl stopped to listen. There was a high-pitched sequel echoing above them – "It's sounds like a little girl is in trouble."

The girlish scream was becoming strong with each second until both Huntresses could identify the origin and looked up to the hole in the ceiling. They saw a dark figure growing larger above their heads. It took a moment for them to recognize the shape and quickly dived out of the way before the object crashed into the ground where they had been standing previously. Nebula and Dew coughed as they waved the dust cloud away, looking up at Grayson, who was cradling Rory in his massive arms while the musician was shrieking at an impressively high pitch. Rory opened his eyes, still screaming, when he realized that they had stopped falling and his voice slowly died out when he realized that Dew and Nebula were staring at him. The Atlesian musician moved cautiously slow out of Grayson's arms back to the ground, brushed himself off, and coughed into his fist in a dignifying fashion.

"You're safe now, buddy," said Rory, patting Grayson's bulging arm.

"Nice save, man," said Nebula sarcastically with a thumbs up.

"Where did you two come from?" asked Dew.

"Up," said Grayson simply; Dew face-palmed. "We just barely got away from the Grimm."

"Yeah, just a couple hundred Sandworms," said Rory, strapping his guitar back into place. "It was no big deal."

"Did you run into anyone else?" asked Nebula.

"You're the first ones we met in a while," said Grayson.

"With over a hundred students taking the initiation, you'd think we'd have run into more people," said Nebula with a worrisome grimace. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Their thoughts were broken again by another sound – a deep rumbling noise beneath their feet. All blinked curiously and craned their heads down; a web of deep cracks started appearing in the stone floor. The group of four initiates swiftly jumped out of the way before the ground exploded and shot fragments of stone in every direction. The Huntsmen drew their weapons – Nebula with her crossbow, Dew with her spear, Grayson with his hammer, and Rory with his guitar. The group waited in silence, watching as two black-furred paws rose from the freshly made hole, each with four foot-long nails, and the pointed, mole-like face of the Talpid Grimm.

Nebula's finger itched to pull the trigger and let loose an arrow between the mole blind eyes. But as the Grimm pulled itself the rest of the way out of its newly made tunnel, the Huntsmen nearly dropped their weapons in shock of the two people that were riding the Grimm's back like a horse.

"Oh, it looks like you are all alive," said Tawny tranquilly.

"That sucks," grumbled Nila.

"Tawny? Nila?" said Nebula confused, lowering her weapon but not holstering it. "Where in Remnant have you two been? And why are you on top of a Talpid?"

"Okay, get this," said Nila, gesturing her thumb to the tattooed woman. "Turns out that Tawny Birch here has a semblance that can let her translate and speak in all languages, including Grimm."

"After Nila Wright nearly got us killed by attacking a colony of Talpid," said Tawny, gently petting the Talpid's head while ignoring her partner's glare, "I managed to convince them that we were not the enemies and that we simply wanted to move on. Naturally, most of the Grimm did not care what we wanted and tried to kill us, but I did manage to convince one of them to help. Despite appearance, he really is a good Grimm – "

 _ **BANG!**_

Nebula clung to Dew, Rory jumped back into Grayson's arms, and Tawny and Nila fell backwards onto the ground as the gunshot rang through the tunnels and the Talpid's head exploded; it evaporating corpse dropping sideways in front of one of the tunnels. Domino Bones appeared from the dark tunnel, pulling back the bolt action of her sniper rifle and casually disposing the empty shell. Though she couldn't see their faces, Domino could imagine the shocked looks on everyone's faces when she stepped over the Grimm's eroding corpse. She then turned and offered her hand to Olive Evergreen, assisting her over the eroding body.

"Watch your step, milady," said Domino, speaking in an uncharacteristically polite tone.

"Why, thank you, Miss Bones," said Olive, smiling gratefully.

"Miss!" yelped Dew, shoving Nebula to one side ("Ow!" cried Nebula.) and running over. "Oh, Miss, I am so grateful that you are not hurt. You're not hurt, are you?"

"I am quite fine, Dew," said Olive happily. "Miss Bones was kind enough to escort me the whole way through."

"Did she now?" said Nebula, eying the blind sniper suspiciously.

"Yeah, I'm nice like that," said Domino with a mischievous chuckle. "Now before you all start getting into your sappy reunion special, ya might wanna know that we're gonna be expecting company in the next ten seconds," she added, reloading her rifle.

Nebula didn't look like she could trust Domino as far as she could throw her (and with her semblance, Nebula could throw her very far). But considering that they were in a nest of Grimm swarms and the sniper seemed to have a sense for the environment then, as much as she disliked it, she needed to trust Domino. Especially since the sniper seemed to be expecting company. Domino crouched in a kneeling stance with her rifle trained down one of the tunnels. Nebula and the others formed a line alongside her and raised their weapons as well. And in ten seconds flat, just as Domino predicted, Nebula saw the sisters Gwen Darcy and Octavia Ember sliding around the corner.

"Oh, it's only you two," said Nebula, letting out a sigh of relief. "It's okay, everyone. They're friendlies."

"Don't just stand there!" screamed Octavia frantically as she and Gwen skidded behind the group. "Shoot, damn it! Shoot!"

"What? Shoot?" repeated Nebula, turning to them in confusion. "What are you – ?"

Before the violet-haired Huntress could even get her words out, Gwen glared up at the bow-woman, grabbed her by the face, and forced her to turn around. Nebula blanched over the sheer number of Antlions turned the corner, climbing over one another like a rolling wave.

Nebula took the first shot at the horde with her crossbow at the same time as Domino's sniper rifle, taking out the first two Grimm in the horde. Olive's weapon converted into a wrist-mounted crossbow and fired bolts of aura, but the thick armor plating the Antlions merely glazed the shot over. Tawny withdrew a handful of cards from her hidden pocket and flung them down the tunnel where they exploded into a flash of light that had the Antlions shrieking. Immediately after, Rory Al slid on his knees in front of the group, struck the blue Dust string of his guitar, and the tunnel walls were suddenly covered in a layer of slippery ice. The Antlion's small legs tripped over the frost and started gliding toward them when Grayson took two thunderous steps forward and raised his hammer over his head. Just as the Antlions were about to slid into the chamber with the Hunters, Grayson slammed the ground with his hammer and a wall of stone rose to block the tunnel; a succession of thuds and splatters were heard from the other side.

"Hey, look at us, we're working as a team!" said Rory cheerfully, holding out his fist. "C'mon, fist bump time! C'mon, don't leave me hanging. Somebody hit me."

Domino punched him in the face, dropping him.

"He asked for it," said Domino jokingly.

"We saw the other initiates," said Octavia, panting hard while using her knees for support. "Dozens of them, down below at the bottom of the mountain. The Grimm were stringing them up like trophies. I think…I think we might be the only ones left."

"What about Stella?" asked Nebula worriedly, grabbing the redhead by the shoulders. "You remember her, right? Dark hair, blue eyes that almost glow, very short, flies into a fit whenever someone calls her short? These no way she could have been caught, right?"

"We didn't get a chance to see who was down there," said Gwen, biting her lip and avoiding their eyes. "There might be a chance she…."

"Nuh-uh! Not possible!" shouted Nebula vehemently. "Not only is she too strong to be caught by a bunch of Grimm, but her semblance makes her almost invincible. She's got to be around here somewhere. She just – " she clenched her fists and clenched her teeth in frustration, shoving through the group before anyone could say otherwise. She stopped in front of one of the tunnels, took a deep breath, and shouted – "STELLA, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"

"Are you out of your flipping mind?" Nila chastised, pulling Nebula away. "You just alerted every Grimm in the mountain of our location."

"Listen, teen angst," hissed Nebula. "That's y best friend down there, and I – "

"Nebula!"

The violet-haired huntress turned on her heel while at the same time everyone drew their weapons and took aim down the tunnel. When Nebula peered into sloping passageway, the first thing her eyes spotted in the darkness was the bouncy, brightly golden mane of a bear Faunus carrying a much shorter lump of midnight-blue on her back, waving over the Faunus' shoulder. It was Stella and Honey; relief washed over Nebula. Stella bounded over Honey's head when the pair stepped into the chamber and ran inside with her arms thrown open to meet Nebula halfway in tight embrace.

"Thank Oum you're all right," said Stella as they pulled away. "We were with some of the initiates when they were dragged away by the Grimm, so I was worried the same thing might have happened to you."

"Nah, the worst we came across was a Death Stalker," said Nebula. "We've been lucky not to run into any more since."

"Is this all that left?" asked Honey, looking over the small group. "Well I'll be damned. The lil' lady weren't jokin' when she said a lot o' students get killed during the test."

"And I'd prefer it if we weren't one of them," said Stella seriously. "All right, people, listen up! Honey and I figured out that there are ore Grimm the further you go down the mountain, meaning heading to the bottom is a bad idea."

"Now you tell us," muttered Octavia.

"We figured the best route of escaping is by heading to the top where there are less Grimm occupying the area," said Stella. "Domino, you may be blind, but you seem to be able to figure your way around. I guessing you use some form of echolocation. You think you can use that to devise a safe route to the top of the mountain?"

"This wouldn't be you taking an opportunity to stare at my a – " said Domino, taking a more sultry tone.

"This is no time for your innuendos!" snapped Stella; Domino flinched surprisingly. "We need to make a quick escape before we're all dead!"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, what's up with you?" asked Nebula worriedly. "I get that you want to avoid the Grimm…. Unless it's not the Grimm that you're worried about." Stella maintained a brief moment of silence. "Stella…what did you do?"

"Technically, it was my fault," said Honey sheepishly. "Ya see, what happen was – "

At that precise moment, just before the bear Faunus could provide any information on the situation, the chamber began to shake. Rather than say it was just the cavern, it would have been better to say that the whole mountain was being shaken out of its roots. The surviving Huntsmen were thrown back and forth by the rattling, throwing their arms out to steady their balance, but ultimately run into one another and falling over. Some of the students started latching on to each other protectively; Grayson snatched up Rory and, surprisingly enough, Honey and held them both close to his chest; Honey's face suddenly felt hot. Dew stabbed her spear into the ground to center herself and grabbed hold of Olive's hand, who in turn grabbed Domino's hand when the blind sniper started flailing across the floor. Octavia and Gwen fell over one another, Tawny and Nila smacked into the wall, and Stella and Nebula landed near each other on the floor.

"Stel, what the hell is going on!" screamed Nebula.

"The worst thing you could possibly imagine!" Stella yelled back. "We accidentally released an Ancient Grimm from its cage."

"An Ancient Grimm? Are you freakin' kidding me?" shouted Nebula, more annoyed than upset. "Who in their Oum-damn minds would break an Ancient Grimm free?"

"Would it make a difference if I said I was sorry?" asked Honey.

"NO!" shouted everyone in unison.

The hole in the middle of the floor made by the Talpid Grimm suddenly collapsed and expanded its reach, dropping everyone in the chamber over the edge into the pit of darkness. But just as they started to fall, a blast of hot wind and a noise like clapping thunder burst from the shadows and shot the huntsmen through the hole in the ceiling. The squall lifted the twelve surviving students through a winding series of tunnels where they popped out in the sand slide they had rode through the beginning of the initiation. As the heated gust carried them up to the quicksand ceiling, Nebula turned to her best friend with an angry glare.

"If we survive this, we're no longer friends," said Nebula

"Yeah, that sounds reasonable," said Stella.

And they passed through the unstable ceiling of sand to emerge onto the mountaintop outside.

* * *

 **I would like to ask the readers for suggestions on the names for Team NDGO's weapons (I can't just keep calling them sword, spear, and knives). Nebula's crossbow is called Shooting Star because that's what her character designer, Grace Bono, called it, even though Rooster Teeth never confirmed it, so I named it out of respect for the creator's wishes. So if you have any ideas for the names, please feel free to share them.**

 **A) Team SHDO**

 **B) Team GRNT**

 **Please, read and review.**


	7. Going Under, Part 3

**A/N: Quick shout out to Hong Cong for his contribution in providing names for Team NDGO's weapons. Octavia and Dew's weapons still don't have names so please, PLEASE offer your support.**

* * *

 **Vol 1, Episode 6: Going Under, Part 3**

Being the largest and heaviest huntsman usually came as a benefit, but in this case it was the reason why Grayson was the first to fall through the sand trap, sinking faster and a stone in water. Those who stood near him (I.e. Rory and several huntsmen-in-training) were dragged down through the sinking ground with him. They plummeted into an expansive and notoriously dark tunnel where the light from the desert sun was muted by the thick walls of sand. They must have fallen somewhere between twenty to thirty feet by Grayson's calculations before the tunnel tilted one way into a steep slope. Grayson braced himself into a ball and hit the ground with his shoulder; most people would have been rattled by the strong impact, but the giant shrugged it off. Grayson unrolled into a sitting position, carried forward by the steep slope as the rest of the students started crashing around him like rain. Now Grayson's size started to work for him again, slowing down his descent while his classmates rocketed down at full speed.

Meanwhile, Rory Al landed painfully on his butt – the Atlesian musician bit his lip to stop himself from crying – before he too started fall down the sand slide. He looked left and right through the number of potential huntsmen, searching for anyone he was familiar with. He craned his head over his left shoulder when he spotted his mountain-sized bestie (Grayson denied it, but Rory knew he was playing around) sliding slower than the rest of the students. The difference in their rate of descent was pulling them further and further away. Rory was not having that at all.

The Atlesian musician spun his weapon over his shoulder; a cherry red guitar with six strings of different color – red, purple, white, yellow, green, and brown. Rory gripped the neck of his guitar, raised the pick in his other hand, and struck down on the green chord with great effort. The note echoed off the walls of the tunnel like the roar of a Grimm, startling many of the surrounding student body, but the true effect of the chord was to create a miniature tornado that exploded from the face of the guitar. The gust pushed the musician backwards up the sand slide, deftly dodging the other students, until he was on level with Grayson. Rory latched himself to the mountain man's shoulder and turned up at Grayson's blank expression with a wide grin.

"Mind if I hitch a ride?" asked Rory energetically.

"Never stopped you before," grumbled Grayson, who at this point just stopped fighting it.

Down further along the slope, Nila Wright was crouched down on all-fours sliding along with hands on her hands and feet like a cheetah ready to pounce on its prey. As they slid further into the massive tunnel, Nila's sharp Faunus eyes peered through the semi-darkness ad spotted the upcoming rock wall tunnel system sooner than anyone else. At the rate everyone was moving, slamming headfirst into a wall would definitely amount to some level of bone breaking, no matter how strong their aura was. When the other students finally saw the wall coming, they started to tumble and flail over one another; she winced when Nebula Violette slammed into Dew Gayl with a loud smacking sound and left through one of the tunnels. The other students pushed themselves to slip through the tunnel openings; most of them were aiming for the largest hole in the center. One unfortunate man bumped off his classmate and hit the tunnel edge with his back – Nila covered her ears before she could hear the _**crack**_ of his spine.

"Those poor souls are fated for death." Nila snapped her head left, only now realizing that Tawny Birch was sliding next to her in a half-lotus pose, clam and serene as ever. She flashed a card to the cheetah Faunus with the word "Death" written at the bottom. "Their numbers will be great, but it will only bring them closer to their doom. The monsters that lurk in this mountain, they will be drawn by their fear and mistrust."

"You really think you can predict the future?" said Nila distrusting.

"The future isn't a book that you can 'read'," Tawny chastised. "It can only be interpreted."

"Well, if you're so smart," said Nila challengingly. "Can you 'interpret' a way out?"

"For that, we leave it up – " said Tawny, flashing the Wheel of Fortune' card "- to good fortune."

The cheetah Faunus rolled her eyes as the self-made fortune teller tossed the card at the tunnel system. At first, it looked like the card was about the fall through the large tunnel through which most people were entering; Nila was fully prepared to call Birch on her contradiction. And then the unexpected happen. The card suddenly flipped backwards and glided to the upper-left section of the wall and slipped through one of the more narrow tunnels above. Tawny slipped a knowing smirk to Nila before she broke her pose, glided up to her feet, and leaped into the chosen tunnel.

Nila grimaced to herself. She never really in something as completely random and unpredictable like fortune telling – she only participated in the card reading last night because she thought it would be fun. But Tawny did have a point. A lot of people were scared about falling into the unknown and if there were Grimm in the mountain (Of which, the cheetah Faunus had no doubt), then their cumulative emotions would be like a dinner bell for the monsters. With a self-loathing groan, Nila crouched back down on all-fours and practically pounced into the upper tunnel, following her new partner close behind.

Meanwhile, the last of the students had disappeared into the tunnels – Nebula and Dew crashed into one area, the half-sisters glided toward another, Tawny and Nila jumped away, Domino snatched Olive and grappled out of sight, and Stella and Honey snowballed together down the middle route. The only ones that were left were Grayson and Rory, who, thanks to their combined weight, slowed them down tremendously. This gave them enough time to look over each potential pathway without the fear of time restraints or crashing.

"So which way now, genius?" asked Grayson. "I don't want to go down the middle because a lot of people already went. But I'm also too big for most of the other tunnels. So which one do you think is best?"

"Actually, I got a better idea," said Rory smugly.

Grayson shot a quizzical look at the guitarist. Rory pushed away from his partner, flipped his instrument around, and struck the brown string with an vibrant roar of the chord. The soundwave blasted the sand in their path and kicked up the grain to cover the mouths of the tunnel system before they solidified into stone like the rest of the wall. Grayson and Rory reached the slab of rock and stood up at an angle. The largest of the pair kicked the newly created rocks that blocked their paths; they were very solid.

"What did you do that for?" asked Grayson. "How are we supposed to find our way out when you've blocked off the only way around the mountain?"

"We go need to find our way around; we already know the quickest way out," said Rory. Grayson tilted his head, not at all understanding the musician's thought process. "Think about it, my plus-sized compadre – "

"That can be taken as an offensive term," said Grayson pointedly.

" – the head honcho just said we needed to find our way out to pass, right?" Rory continued, ignoring the side commentary. "She never said we had to go through the mountain to do it. The best way of getting out of this sand trap…is by going back the way we came. We can just climb back up the tunnel and come out of the top of the mountain the same way we came in. That way we won't get lost trying to figure our way around and can avoid the Grimm."

"That's…actually pretty smart," said Grayson surprisingly.

"I'm not just a gorgeous face," said Rory smugly, grinning and striking a pose with a sparkly background.

"I'm gonna hit you," said Grayson dryly.

"The only problem we have is how to climb back up," said Rory seriously, craning his head back and looking up the tunnel. "That's a pretty steep slope and there's no way we'll be able to get a grip in sand. So how do we…?"

"I've got this one," said Grayson.

The mammoth-sized Huntsman gingerly slid Rory to one side with his massive palm and stepped up to the sand slope, cracking his knuckles; Rory shuddered and cringed at bones snapping against one another under his thick skin. Grayson lifted his hand and settled it gently against the sand, feeling the grains slipping through and over his fingers. His eyes narrowed with focus as a gray aura started to build around his hand. And with a grunt of effort, Grayson pushed against the sand, splashing some of the grain in Rory's face, which he spit out with a disgusted look. Grayson removed his hand and revealed the sand underneath to be compressed and solidified. To prove the point, Grayson stepped on the smoothed surface and his foot did not fall through.

"Whoa, that's awesome!" said Rory impressed. "Is that your semblance? You can make things hard?"

"Nah, it's a standard mining technique," said Grayson, shaking his hand as he performed the method again. "Nearly everyone in family is a miner, expect for my cousin who became an accountant, but we don't like to talk about him. They go out and mine Vacuo's natural resources that we either use for daily life here, or we export to other kingdoms like Mistral. Most of the time, we end up having to dig deep deposits in the middle of the desert and we can't get out of tunnels the normal way because the sand is too loose. So we use our aura to gather the sand into a single space" – he pressed his hand into the sand – "and compact it." he finished, showing off the newest stepping point.

"That is so cool – you have to show me that some time," said Rory, stepping behind his new best friend. "So you're from a family of miners, huh? Why'd you decide to go to Huntsman school? Wanted to stand out from the crowd, I bet."

"The majority of mining operations usually require clearing out Grimm nests before we do any actual digging," said Grayson, making another foothold. "It's pretty much a requirement to have huntsman training before you can get your license – at least legally. Speaking of which, why are you here?" – Rory perked at the question – "If even half the stuff you say is true, then you'd be a rich celebrity living it up in Atlas. Why coming to an unstable kingdom like Vacuo?"

"Ooh, so you want to know my story, do you?" said Rory, once again striking a pose with an arrogant grin. "Well, it's actually quite an interesting tale that goes back for – "

"I'm not actually interested, I was just being polite," said Grayson blankly.

"So cruel!" yelped Rory stunningly.

The miner and the musician continued the rest of the way up the steep slope in silence; Grayson creating new footholds with his aura technique and Rory pouted behind him strumming at his guitar quietly. He actually played a nice tune, Grayson thought as Rory's notes transitioned into a slow, melodic ballad. Now Grayson wasn't the biggest music fan, but he could appreciate it when he heard it. They were roughly halfway up the sand slide when Rory's music once again shifted into a country step – a rather odd transition, but a surprisingly pleasant one to Grayson – when the musician finally spoke up.

"Hey, you know that bear Faunus from last night?" said Rory. "You know, the one hanging out with that short girl…er, what's her name?"

"Honey," answered Grayson, creating another foothold. "What about her."

"I think she likes you," said Rory.

Grayson's foot slipped and started sliding backward. Rory yelped in surprise before her jumped, bounced off of his partner's back as he passed underneath, and landed back on his stepping point. The mammoth-sized huntsman ended up sliding all the way back down to the rock wall and plopped on his back. After a moment of stillness between the two, Grayson sat up and looked to the musician with an expression of disbelief.

"Where on Remnant did you get that idea?" said Grayson open-mouthed. "Did you forget that she stomped on my boulders last night?"

"Well, yeah, because you smacked her friend across the room," said Rory knowledgably. Grayson nodded, conceding the fact. "But before that, didn't you notice the way she was looking at you before _la directora_ gave that morbid speech? Dude, she was totally making googly eyes – I'm pretty sure she thinks you're hot." – Grayson scratched the back of his head, staring down shyly at his feet. "Sure, you two have a couple of personality problems to work out, but I think you two would be perfect together…. C'mon, you can't say you haven't thought she was pretty at least once."

"….Maybe," mumbled Grayson. "Since when are you a matchmaker?"

"Don't let their cool, debonair exterior fool you; I'm a romantic at heart," said Rory, striking another pose; Grayson stared back blankly. "Aaand…I might have looked through my sister's magazines once or twice – men can read magazines too ya know!" he shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at his partner.

"So…you think Honey and I – " started Grayson.

"Dude, you two would totally click," said Rory confidently. "If all of us get out of this alive, I might help you two – "

The Atlesian musician cut himself off, snapping his jaw tightly and staring at the opposite wall with a distant look in his eyes. He turned on his heel, dropped down to his hands and knees, and lowered his head while pressing his ear into the sand. Grayson tilted his head in curiosity and opened his mouth to say something, but Rory quickly shushed him before he could utter a syllable. The musician had an unnaturally serious expression that Grayson was not used to seeing; he wisely kept his mouth shut and let Rory do his work. The musician grimaced as he pushed his ear further into the grain. Having spent years working on his craft, Rory gained a sense of noticing the timbre of noises overlapping each other like auditory radar (nowhere near Domino's level, but still above average). The musician narrowed his eyes in focus…then gasped and quickly jumped away before the ground exploded underneath him.

Grayson reached out, caught his partner out of the air, and set him down next to him before turning their attention back up the slope. A long, slender black body covered white bone plates slithered creepily through the narrow hole in the sand and wiggled around in the air; Rory nearly gaged in disgust. Its head was covered in the bone plates of the Grimm with four eyes around narrow head; the head separated into four parts like hinges and spread out, unveiling the three wiggling, barded tongues in its mouth.

"Sandworm!" shouted Rory, raising his pick. "I've got it!"

"Wait!" said Grayson, throwing his hand out. "Sandworms never travel alone."

Just as Grayson had predicted, not long after the first Sandworm appeared, a second open popped its slimy head out of the wall next to it, squealing with its tongue-tentacles flailing about. Then two more appeared above them, then four on the opposite wall, and then eight, then sixteen…. Grayson and Rory stood back to back with their heads to left and right in panic as fifty plus of the burrowing Grimm started filling up the tunnel with more appearing each moment. Rory tightened his grip around the neck of his guitar as Grayson reached over his shoulder to withdraw his own weapon: a massive silver hammer with one side shaped like a sludge head and the opposite end resembling an axe blade. Grayson pounded the hammer face into the palm of his hand threateningly, making a dull _thud_ sound.

"So, what do you want to bet the odds are that the little boss lady set this up on purpose?" asked Rory.

"It wouldn't surprise me," said Grayson. "You can shoot dust with those fancy strings of yours, right? How far do they reach?"

Instead of answering, the Atlesian musician shot him a cocky grin, jumped in front of the miner, and struck down the white string with a twanging roar of the chord. The soundwave carried with it a cold mist that flash froze the sand at their feet and climbed up the slope, blowing through nearly a dozen Sandworms and encasing them in thick shells of ice. Rory struck the yellow chord this time and the tunnel roared with the crackle of lightning striking down the frozen worms, shattering their bodies into millions of crystal shards that rain down over the duo; Grayson had a funny feeling the musician did that intentionally.

"Show off," said Grayson; Rory stuck out his tongue.

Several Sandworms jumped out from their holes and lunged at the pair with their four-sectioned mouths open and their barded tongues snapping. Grayson gripped his hammer tightly in both hands, pulled it back over his shoulder, waited until the burrowing Grimm were close, and threw his massive weapon across with all his strength. The force behind the swing splattered chunks of Sandworm majority in the sand before they evaporated into nothingness. Against the few that he missed, Grayson backhanded the Sandworms onto the ground before he raised his hammer singlehandedly and slammed it down on top of their heads. But while the behemoth-sized huntsman wasn't looking, one of the Sandworms burrowed out from the wall behind him and attacked, coiling its thin body around the length of his arm and clamping its four-sectioned jaw on his shoulder. Right now, the Sandworm's barded tongues should have stabbed into the Huntsman's blood vessels and injected its poison, but the slimy Grimm only tilted its head in confusion – its tongue couldn't puncture the man's skin. Grayson slapped his hand on top of Sandworm's head and crushed it like a mosquito.

"Dude, that sick," said Rory as his partner ripped the worm off. "In both sense of the word."

"Watch your back," said Grayson causally.

The Atlesian musician didn't turn around as three Sandworms dived from above, but Rory nonetheless swing his guitar around behind him without looking back; the instrument somehow cleaved their heads off in a clean sweep. Grayson raised his brow; that was admittedly impressive.

The squealing in the tunnel grew louder and the pair looked up, realizing that the number of burrowing Grimm had seemingly double in the past two minutes, and all of them were sliding down the tunnel toward them. Grayson lifted his hammer over his head and slammed it down on one side of the tunnel, using his aura to channel a shockwave that compact the sand and trap the Grimm within his range. Rory slid on his knees in front of his partner and struck the red Dust string with a beastly roar of sound, creating a wave of flames that charred the captured Sandworms. Five Sandworms then burst from the wall to Rory's left with their bard tongues lashing at the musician, but Grayson threw out his arm and took the hit instead; their tongues couldn't piece his thick skin. He lopped their heads off with the axe-side of his hammer, dissolving them into nothing. And while the titan-sized miner brushed off the fading residue, a Sandworm jumped out and latched itself to the top of Grayson's head, causing him to yelp in surprise; Rory shot a quick note of electricity to blow it off.

"Thanks," said Grayson gratefully.

"No sweat," said Rory, then looked up at the number of wiggling bodies covering the tunnel. "My Oum, look at them all. There's – whoa!" – he ducked a flying Sandworm and froze it with a quick note – "There's way too many for just two people to take out. Any ideas – YOW?!" he asked, hopping over a worm nipping at his feet.

"We're fighting a losing battle," said Grayson, smashing another group with his hammer. "These Sandworms aren't appearing by accident – there's way too many for it to be simple chance. Obviously the Headmistress planned to have these Sandworms here" – he backhanded one worm and stomped on another – "in case people had the bright idea of climbing out the way they came. People like us."

"Well, I'm sorry for trying to be helpful!" snapped Rory, blowing the Grimm away with the green chord.

"We stay here any longer and we'll be killed for sure," said Grayson, hammering away at another swarm. "There's only one way left…."

The massive miner suddenly pivoted on his foot, turning to the blocked off tunnel system, raised his hammer over his head, and smashed it down on the rock. The stone wall cracked and shattered away, revealing a long, winding tunnel into the dark unknown. Grayson reached out and grabbed Rory by the back of his jacket.

"Wait, what are you – WAAAAAH!"

Rory shrieked as his partner jumped into the tunnel and carried him along for the ride. The moment both Huntsmen disappeared, the Sandworms stopped in the most literal sense; they not only ceased to move, but some of them were even frozen in midair. A soft _click_ echoed from the top of the sand slope and the Sandworms suddenly started to wither and turned to dust. If anyone had been around long enough, they would have heard Headmistress Blanche's playful giggles resounding through the tunnel.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a land far, far away…or a winding tunnel just half a mile below the top of the mountain….

Nila had been crawling on her hands and knees for close to ten minutes while navigating her way through the immensely long tunnel, making many loops that had her turned around and occasionally slipping on the slanted straighter paths. The grains scratched at her skin irritably, making them raw red. But the worst part came to the multiple crossroads that spread out in every direction (left, right, up down, forward, backward, and the occasional diagonal angle). These tunnels were not made naturally; something else had gone through the painstaking labor of constructing this tunnel system, whether it was the Grimm or possibly the school staff. Either way, Nile was never that good at mazes and would have most certainly ended up lost had she not noticed the cards half-buried at specific routes; Tawny Birch seemed to leave a trail behind for her to follow. The cheetah Faunus was grateful, but that didn't make her think the fortuneteller was any less weird.

After following the trail of card left behind by her partner, Nila stumbled out of the wall, landing on a rock with her head, and flopped onto her back, groaning as she rubbed the swelling that was no doubt forming. The cheetah Faunus grumbled under her breath and stood up, looking around the small, dome-shaped cavern that they had wandered into. The area was most barren except for a couple dozen flat rocks littering the surprisingly flat, sandy floor; faint beams of sunlight were coming through the tunnels in the ceiling that were hitting the rock beds at the perfect angle. They were heating rocks, Nila deduced. She knew that reptiles in the desert used these rocks to sunbath and raise their body temperatures, but she had no idea that Grimm also got worried about the cold; she just figured they were just naturally immune to all conditions. You learn something new every day….

She spotted Tawny Birch in the middle of the room under one of the biggest rays of sunlight, sitting in a meditative pose with her head tilted back and her eyes close, taking a relaxing breath of air. When the ceetah Faunus approached her, Tawny opened her eyes and tilted her head, giving her partner a lazy smile.

"I see you managed to find your way," said Tawny.

"I had a little help," said Nila, brandishing one of Tawny's cards. The cheetah Faunus tossed the card at the fortuneteller; Tawny caught it causally between her fingers. "Good reflexes for someone so relaxed. Which begs the question, why you are so relaxed? This whole mountain is probably lousy with Grimm trying to eat us. Not exactly an ideal vacation spot if you're asking for my opinion."

"We have no reason to worry about the Grimm, Nila Wright," said Tawny serenely. "Just as we have no reason to worry about this trial that we face. I have concluded that the best method of moving forward in this test is to employ the degree of neutral jing – that is to say, we must watch, wait, and listen for the answer to come to us."

"Let me guess," said Nila in a mocking tone, "you consulted the cards on that one."

"Actually, it was palmistry," said Tawny simply.

"…I'm out of here," said Nila annoyed and started walking away.

"You don't like me very much, do you, Nila Wright," said Tawny; Nila stopped mid-step. "No, perhaps that was the wrong word for it…. You don't trust me seems more appropriate. I would go as far to say that you don't trust anyone very well, do you? I could see it in your eyes last night during our session. Sure, you put up a good front and tried to act friendly as a way of fitting in, but deep down you couldn't bring yourself to stand with anyone else, not emotionally at least. You created a barrier around your heart. Why? Is it because you do not think they are worthy of your presence…or is it because you are afraid of being hurt?"

"Don't go talking like you know anything about me!" said Nila angrily, spinning around at Tawny with the darkest glare she could muster.

"You're right," said Tawny understandingly, surprising the Faunus. "I don't know anything about you, which is why it concerns me to see you in pain. Perhaps it would make you feel better to talk about it while we wait. I find that sharing your feelings with others is a good way of getting everything off your chest. Don't worry, everything spoken in this room will be kept between us."

"There's nothing for me to say," said Nila insistently.

"Is it because of your Faunus heritage?" Tawny continued. "Are you, perhaps, ashamed of who you are? No, that doesn't seem likely – you show no desire to conceal your true self. So then it must be that you share some small piece of distain towards humans. You were hurt by a human once, weren't you? You were hurt because they couldn't look past that cute ears of yours could they? You try to hide behind a mask of kindness, but you won't let others get close to you because you are afraid of history repeating itself."

"Okay, you need to st – wait, did you say 'cute'?" sputtered Nila surprisingly, self-consciously touching her ears. "You…think they're cute?"

"Quite lovely," said Tawny sincerely. "Nila Wright, I can't promise that you won't get hurt again, because that would be a lie. Getting hurt is a part of life. But if you try to cut out the things in your life because you're afraid of getting hurt, you'll end up missing out on what makes life so wondrous."

"…You're totally read that off your Scroll before I came in, did you?" said Nila blankly.

"Whoops, looks like my secrets out," said Tawny with a hearty laugh; Nila snorted behind her hand. "But speaking seriously, you know there are people here you can trust, like me."

"Whatever," Nila scoffed, but not as harshly as she would have; she was still touching her ears self-consciously. "Anyway…did you're 'magic cards' or whatever tell you which way we're supposed to go next? I see a lot of tunnels, but I have no idea where any of them go. We could just be walking around in circles or end up in a Grimm nest."

"I already told you," said Tawny pleasantly. "For now, we just wait until the answer appears before us."

"You're kidding, right?" asked Nila in a disbelieving tone. "You think the answer is just gonna magically pop up while we're waiting in this hole?"

At that precise moment, as if planned, a long, twitchy black snout concealed behind a painted bone mask popped out of the ground between them. Nila and Tawny slowly tilted forward looking down at the phenomenon with blank expression.

"Did you say 'hole' or 'mole'?" asked Tawny curiously.

The snout-nosed creature popped back underneath the sand…and then exploded to the surface with a croaking squeal. Nila deftly flipped backwards away from the beast and slid across the sand when landing, reaching behind underneath her jacket; Tawny remained rooted in her spot undisturbed, much to the cheetah Faunus' disbelief. Nila shook her head; she didn't have time to think about that weirdo, but instead needed to focus on the Grimm that had appeared.

She had never seen a Talpid before; they didn't have them in Mistral due to its humid climate and abundance of wetlands. When standing on its hind legs, the Talpid was roughly a foot taller than an average human, but its body was very bulk from the thick skin underneath the mass of black fur. Its flat paws had four nails on each, each one of them more than a foot in length and sharp enough to cut through stone. Bone plates covered the back of its paws as well as the surface of its back and added by the row of sharp barbs that ran up the length of its spine, leading up to the decorative mask that covered its narrow, mole-like face. The Talpid's nose twitched, trying to sniff her out; the Talpids were blind, Nila concluded.

The blind Grimm stiffened, seemingly catching a scent of the Huntresses, but instead of turning to Tawny, who was sitting only feet away, the Talpid turned its head on Nila; the cheetah Faunus' jaw dropped in disbelief. The Talpid dropped down on all-fours, pressed itself against the floor, and then leaped at the Huntress, crossing the distance between them in a single bound…when Nila suddenly dashed forward, running past the Talpid, trailed by a flash of silver. The mole monster crashed into the round and tumbled away…while its right arm was flung across the air before it evaporated into nothingness. Tawny tilted her head with a soft smile and a light chuckle.

Nila turned around to face the Grimm that was struggling to stand up right without its arm, flashing her weapon dangerously. The cheetah Faunus' weapon looked like a metal wheel that had been divided into two equal parts, both of which had a black inner edge and a blue outer one. The two halves were connected by the silver handle that looped into an infinity sign. Each half has four light-blue spikes with the same arrowhead-like design slanted in the same direction. Two long, silky-blue clothes were tied to the looping handles of each half; Nila twirled her arm to wrap the clothes around her forearm.

"A Chakram," said Tawny lightly. "A weapon used by traditional Mistral warriors during the Great War. You don't see many old fashioned weapons these days."

"You know, you could have helped there," said Nila disapprovingly.

"I am helping," said Tawny, smiling earnestly. "I'm helping by doing nothing."

"That doesn't even make any – " Nila started to argue when the wounded Talpid started beating its hand against the ground, making an echoing _thump, thump_ sound. A moment later, more than a couple dozen Talpids started popping out of the floor, walls and ceiling, all of them glaring blindly around the room. "Uh…mind helping now?"

"Still doing nothing," said Tawny delightfully.

"Load of help you are," grumbled Nila.

Rather than waiting for the Grimm to come to her, Nila took a step forward, spun a quick circle, and lobbed the Chakram through the air, digging the angled edges of the weapon deep in the eyes of one. The burrowing Grimm fell backward and dissolved into empty space; it kin sharply turned their pointed noses at Nila simultaneously. As the Grimm started lowering themselves into pouncing positions, the cheetah Faunus pulled at the blue cloth strapped to her weapon and tugged sharply to the right, flinging it into the side of another Talpid's face for an instant kill. Nila tugged to the left and the Chakram flew across, slicing the throat of another Talpid before the cheetah Faunus tugged at the cloth to bring it back to her hand.

The Talpids jumped at the cheetah Faunus with their claws held in front of them. Nila skillfully flipped over the first of the mole monsters, slicing her weapon cleanly through the top of its skull mid-flip, pressed her foot against the Grimm's back and pushed off to throw herself at the rest. She kicked one of the Grimm out of the air while throwing her Chakram into another's chest, pulling at the blue cloth to drag it the bladed wheel to its neck. When that Grimm faded away, Nila pulled her weapon in a high arc and brought it down on top of the next Grimm's head. The cheetah pulls recalled her weapon and gracefully flipped backward, landing on the back of another Talpid before she jabbed her Chakram through the beast's nape. She ripped her weapon harshly out of the mole monster's smoking flesh just before it evaporated into a black mist and shot her head up with a challenging glare, only to discover that the room was suddenly clear of monsters.

Nila looked around hesitantly, both hands clenching the looped handles of her weapon. There was no way that the Grimm would suddenly give up, right?

Unfortunately, she was right in assuming that the Talpids didn't just run away. She nearly lost her footing when four of the mole monsters suddenly exploded from underneath the sand around her with their claws raised over their heads and letting out croaking squeals that caused Nila to cringe. The burrowing beasts brought their claws down overtop her together, but Nila quickly raised her Chakram over her head, shielding her from their talons but their combined strength still forced her to her knees. The cheetah grinded her teeth together, pushing her entire weight against the steel wheel, but the four Grimm together were keeping her pinned in place. Just when she didn't think it could get any worse, the ground underneath Nila's legs suddenly gave out and small hole pulled the cheetah Faunus in, burying her up to her waist in sand.

The four Talpids pushing down on the Faunus finally stepped back, which Nila saw as an opportunity to pry herself free from the sand trap. The cheetah Faunus pushed down on the ground and tried pulling herself up, but this proved to be a vital mistake as the sand gave way even further and now buried the Huntress up to her shoulders, pinning her arms to her sides. Now on top of being trapped and defenseless with an unsupportive partner that may as well have been a statue at this point, the remainder of the Talpid swarm started popping out of the ground one by one in a broken circle around her.

The Grimm started to move in; Nila struggled harder, only to dig herself in further. The Talpids were now on top of her; they were scratching their nails together threateningly; Nila stopped struggling once the sand level reached her chin. The Grimm raised their claws and started to swipe down when –

"Wait!" shouted Tawny; the Talpid's claws just short of Nila's hair. The blind Grimm turned toward Tawy, who was walking toward the group of monsters like she were greeting old friends. "Now, now, it doesn't need to be this way. I'm sure we can come to a reasonable compromise without having to resort to violence." – The closest Talpid squealed at the fortuneteller, who shook her head – "Oh no, we weren't trying to intrude. We just sort of…fell, I suppose the right word is." – More squealing; Tawny scratched her chin sheepishly – "Well, when you put it that way, it does look bad. But it's all just a big misunderstanding."

This exchange went back and forth for several minutes; the Talpid visibly relaxed the longer the conversation went and some of them just burrowed away to somewhere else. The entire time, Nila was staring at the heavily tattooed woman with her eyes wide as dinner plates and her jaw half buried in the sand. She was talking to Grim. Tawny Birch was – TALKING – TO – GRIMM! What the hell was going on? That Grimm should have ripped Tawny apart by now… shouldn't it? I mean, it looked like they were getting along well enough. Tawny started laughing for some reason and the Talpid made a snorting sound like it was laughing too.

After another minute of back and forth seemingly one-sided conversations, the Talpid turned around and stood over Nila with its claw raised above its head; the cheetah Faunus yelped when it swiped down. Instead of being sliced to ribbons like she expected, the pressure around Nila suddenly loosened and she could move her limbs again; the Talpid had broken the sand trap. The cheetah Faunus rushed to pull herself out and stumbled to her feet, looking from the hole to the mole monster. After staring deep into its milky-white eyes for several seconds, the Talpid got down on all-fours and, to Nila's shock, Tawny suddenly perched herself on its back between the barbs.

"Good news, Nila Wright," said Tawny cheerfully. "The Talpids have agreed to help us on our way."

"But – how did – you are – what the hell is going on here?" shouted Nila, finally snapping. "How did you do that? The whole...whole…talking to Grimm thing? What did you do? Are you a witch?"

"Oh, poor Nila Wright," said Tawny amusingly. "I suppose you would be confused, wouldn't you. Well, the best way to explain it is because of my Semblance."

"Your semblance?" repeated Nila confused.

"My semblance is called communication," explained Tawny. "It allows me to understand and translate all languages whether they are spoken, written, or even done with hand gestures. That includes the language of the Grimm."

"So how did you get the Grimm to act so calm?" asked Nila.

"Talpid are among the most docile of Grimm," said Tawny, petting the Grimm's head to prove her point; the Talpid nuzzled the palm. "They don't openly seek out violence like most Grimm. They were only defending their territory and, technically speaking, the only reason they attacked was because you struck one of them first."

"Me?" said Nila outrageously. "Did you not see that one Grimm jumping at me. I was totally in the right."

"The Talpid was attracted by the new scents lingering in its home and jumped in curiosity," said Tawny. It was never going to harm you, it just wanted to smell you. You were the one that attacked for no reason."

The cheetah Faunus opened her mouth to argue…only to realize she had no way of arguing. Looking back on the incident…yeah, it did look like she was the one that attacked first. Wow, Nila never thought she'd see the say when she was sorry for attacking a Grimm…never thought she see the day when a Grimm acted so friendly either. The Talpid squealed something to Tawny, who nodded her head.

"He can hear some people in the tunnels above," Tawny translated. "Perhaps it's the other students. Let us not waste time here for much longer, Nila Wright. Climb on."

Against her better judgment, the cheetah Faunus stowed her Chakram back underneath her jacket and climbed on the Talpid's back behind Tawny, wrapping her arms around the tattooed woman's waist. Tawny tapped the Grimm's mask twice and the Talpid made a small squealing noise before it leapt toward the ceiling, its claws tearing though the compacted sand like it were made of wet paper.

How did her life turn out this way, Nila wondered dryly.

* * *

Nebula and Dew slid down the sandy ramp from the latest empty cavern that they had come from and found themselves at yet another crossroad – that must have been the third time in the last twenty minutes. There were eight tunnels leading in every direction, though they could rule out the one they just came from, limiting their choice to seven paths. While Dew turned in circles on her feet, frowning with uncertainty, Nebula peeked down one of the tunnel that opened a path downward with her hand on her chin thoughtfully.

"I think we should go down this way," said Nebula, gesturing over her shoulder. "The closer we get to the bottom, the more likely we'll be able to find a way out of the mountain. That's considering the Grimm didn't block the tunnels like the last two."

"I'm not looking for a way out," said Dew harshly. "I'm looking for the miss."

"Yeah, yeah, I get that," said Nebula indifferently. "But we can't just keep running around in circles hoping to find her – do you know how big this mountain is? It would take us days to map out the entire place, and I'm betting there're hundreds of Grimm swarming the tunnels looking for fresh meat. And besides, how do you know that Olive hasn't already made it out?"

"I can't leave without knowing the miss is safe!" said Dew firmly.

"Are you not listening to me?" said Nebula exasperatedly. "I just said she might – wait, do you hear that?" – she suddenly cut herself off and both girl stopped to listen. There was a high-pitched sequel echoing above them – "It's sounds like a little girl is in trouble."

The girlish scream was becoming strong with each second until both Huntresses could identify the origin and looked up to the hole in the ceiling. They saw a dark figure growing larger above their heads. It took a moment for them to recognize the shape and quickly dived out of the way before the object crashed into the ground where they had been standing previously. Nebula and Dew coughed as they waved the dust cloud away, looking up at Grayson, who was cradling Rory in his massive arms while the musician was shrieking at an impressively high pitch. Rory opened his eyes, still screaming, when he realized that they had stopped falling and his voice slowly died out when he realized that Dew and Nebula were staring at him. The Atlesian musician moved cautiously slow out of Grayson's arms back to the ground, brushed himself off, and coughed into his fist in a dignifying fashion.

"You're safe now, buddy," said Rory, patting Grayson's bulging arm.

"Nice save, man," said Nebula sarcastically with a thumbs up.

"Where did you two come from?" asked Dew.

"Up," said Grayson simply; Dew face-palmed. "We just barely got away from the Grimm."

"Yeah, just a couple hundred Sandworms," said Rory, strapping his guitar back into place. "It was no big deal."

"Did you run into anyone else?" asked Nebula.

"You're the first ones we met in a while," said Grayson.

"With over a hundred students taking the initiation, you'd think we'd have run into more people," said Nebula with a worrisome grimace. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Their thoughts were broken again by another sound – a deep rumbling noise beneath their feet. All blinked curiously and craned their heads down; a web of deep cracks started appearing in the stone floor. The group of four initiates swiftly jumped out of the way before the ground exploded and shot fragments of stone in every direction. The Huntsmen drew their weapons – Nebula with her crossbow, Dew with her spear, Grayson with his hammer, and Rory with his guitar. The group waited in silence, watching as two black-furred paws rose from the freshly made hole, each with four foot-long nails, and the pointed, mole-like face of the Talpid Grimm.

Nebula's finger itched to pull the trigger and let loose an arrow between the mole blind eyes. But as the Grimm pulled itself the rest of the way out of its newly made tunnel, the Huntsmen nearly dropped their weapons in shock of the two people that were riding the Grimm's back like a horse.

"Oh, it looks like you are all alive," said Tawny tranquilly.

"That sucks," grumbled Nila.

"Tawny? Nila?" said Nebula confused, lowering her weapon but not holstering it. "Where in Remnant have you two been? And why are you on top of a Talpid?"

"Okay, get this," said Nila, gesturing her thumb to the tattooed woman. "Turns out that Tawny Birch here has a semblance that can let her translate and speak in all languages, including Grimm."

"After Nila Wright nearly got us killed by attacking a colony of Talpid," said Tawny, gently petting the Talpid's head while ignoring her partner's glare, "I managed to convince them that we were not the enemies and that we simply wanted to move on. Naturally, most of the Grimm did not care what we wanted and tried to kill us, but I did manage to convince one of them to help. Despite appearance, he really is a good Grimm – "

 _ **BANG!**_

Nebula clung to Dew, Rory jumped back into Grayson's arms, and Tawny and Nila fell backwards onto the ground as the gunshot rang through the tunnels and the Talpid's head exploded; it evaporating corpse dropping sideways in front of one of the tunnels. Domino Bones appeared from the dark tunnel, pulling back the bolt action of her sniper rifle and casually disposing the empty shell. Though she couldn't see their faces, Domino could imagine the shocked looks on everyone's faces when she stepped over the Grimm's eroding corpse. She then turned and offered her hand to Olive Evergreen, assisting her over the eroding body.

"Watch your step, milady," said Domino, speaking in an uncharacteristically polite tone.

"Why, thank you, Miss Bones," said Olive, smiling gratefully.

"Miss!" yelped Dew, shoving Nebula to one side ("Ow!" cried Nebula.) and running over. "Oh, Miss, I am so grateful that you are not hurt. You're not hurt, are you?"

"I am quite fine, Dew," said Olive happily. "Miss Bones was kind enough to escort me the whole way through."

"Did she now?" said Nebula, eying the blind sniper suspiciously.

"Yeah, I'm nice like that," said Domino with a mischievous chuckle. "Now before you all start getting into your sappy reunion special, ya might wanna know that we're gonna be expecting company in the next ten seconds," she added, reloading her rifle.

Nebula didn't look like she could trust Domino as far as she could throw her (and with her semblance, Nebula could throw her very far). But considering that they were in a nest of Grimm swarms and the sniper seemed to have a sense for the environment then, as much as she disliked it, she needed to trust Domino. Especially since the sniper seemed to be expecting company. Domino crouched in a kneeling stance with her rifle trained down one of the tunnels. Nebula and the others formed a line alongside her and raised their weapons as well. And in ten seconds flat, just as Domino predicted, Nebula saw the sisters Gwen Darcy and Octavia Ember sliding around the corner.

"Oh, it's only you two," said Nebula, letting out a sigh of relief. "It's okay, everyone. They're friendlies."

"Don't just stand there!" screamed Octavia frantically as she and Gwen skidded behind the group. "Shoot, damn it! Shoot!"

"What? Shoot?" repeated Nebula, turning to them in confusion. "What are you – ?"

Before the violet-haired Huntress could even get her words out, Gwen glared up at the bow-woman, grabbed her by the face, and forced her to turn around. Nebula blanched over the sheer number of Antlions turned the corner, climbing over one another like a rolling wave.

Nebula took the first shot at the horde with her crossbow at the same time as Domino's sniper rifle, taking out the first two Grimm in the horde. Olive's weapon converted into a wrist-mounted crossbow and fired bolts of aura, but the thick armor plating the Antlions merely glazed the shot over. Tawny withdrew a handful of cards from her hidden pocket and flung them down the tunnel where they exploded into a flash of light that had the Antlions shrieking. Immediately after, Rory Al slid on his knees in front of the group, struck the blue Dust string of his guitar, and the tunnel walls were suddenly covered in a layer of slippery ice. The Antlion's small legs tripped over the frost and started gliding toward them when Grayson took two thunderous steps forward and raised his hammer over his head. Just as the Antlions were about to slid into the chamber with the Hunters, Grayson slammed the ground with his hammer and a wall of stone rose to block the tunnel; a succession of thuds and splatters were heard from the other side.

"Hey, look at us, we're working as a team!" said Rory cheerfully, holding out his fist. "C'mon, fist bump time! C'mon, don't leave me hanging. Somebody hit me."

Domino punched him in the face, dropping him.

"He asked for it," said Domino jokingly.

"We saw the other initiates," said Octavia, panting hard while using her knees for support. "Dozens of them, down below at the bottom of the mountain. The Grimm were stringing them up like trophies. I think…I think we might be the only ones left."

"What about Stella?" asked Nebula worriedly, grabbing the redhead by the shoulders. "You remember her, right? Dark hair, blue eyes that almost glow, very short, flies into a fit whenever someone calls her short? These no way she could have been caught, right?"

"We didn't get a chance to see who was down there," said Gwen, biting her lip and avoiding their eyes. "There might be a chance she…."

"Nuh-uh! Not possible!" shouted Nebula vehemently. "Not only is she too strong to be caught by a bunch of Grimm, but her semblance makes her almost invincible. She's got to be around here somewhere. She just – " she clenched her fists and clenched her teeth in frustration, shoving through the group before anyone could say otherwise. She stopped in front of one of the tunnels, took a deep breath, and shouted – "STELLA, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"

"Are you out of your flipping mind?" Nila chastised, pulling Nebula away. "You just alerted every Grimm in the mountain of our location."

"Listen, teen angst," hissed Nebula. "That's my best friend down there, and I – "

"Nebula!"

The violet-haired huntress turned on her heel while at the same time everyone drew their weapons and took aim down the tunnel. When Nebula peered into sloping passageway, the first thing her eyes spotted in the darkness was the bouncy, brightly golden mane of a bear Faunus carrying a much shorter lump of midnight-blue on her back, waving over the Faunus' shoulder. It was Stella and Honey; relief washed over Nebula. Stella bounded over Honey's head when the pair stepped into the chamber and ran inside with her arms thrown open to meet Nebula halfway in tight embrace.

"Thank Oum you're all right," said Stella as they pulled away. "We were with some of the initiates when they were dragged away by the Grimm, so I was worried the same thing might have happened to you."

"Nah, the worst we came across was a Death Stalker," said Nebula. "We've been lucky not to run into any more since."

"Is this all that left?" asked Honey, looking over the small group. "Well I'll be damned. The lil' lady weren't jokin' when she said a lot o' students get killed during the test."

"And I'd prefer it if we weren't one of them," said Stella seriously. "All right, people, listen up! Honey and I figured out that there are ore Grimm the further you go down the mountain, meaning heading to the bottom is a bad idea."

"Now you tell us," muttered Octavia.

"We figured the best route of escaping is by heading to the top where there are less Grimm occupying the area," said Stella. "Domino, you may be blind, but you seem to be able to figure your way around. I guessing you use some form of echolocation. You think you can use that to devise a safe route to the top of the mountain?"

"This wouldn't be you taking an opportunity to stare at my a – " said Domino, taking a more sultry tone.

"This is no time for your innuendos!" snapped Stella; Domino flinched surprisingly. "We need to make a quick escape before we're all dead!"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, what's up with you?" asked Nebula worriedly. "I get that you want to avoid the Grimm…. Unless it's not the Grimm that you're worried about." Stella maintained a brief moment of silence. "Stella…what did you do?"

"Technically, it was my fault," said Honey sheepishly. "Ya see, what happen was – "

At that precise moment, just before the bear Faunus could provide any information on the situation, the chamber began to shake. Rather than say it was just the cavern, it would have been better to say that the whole mountain was being shaken out of its roots. The surviving Huntsmen were thrown back and forth by the rattling, throwing their arms out to steady their balance, but ultimately run into one another and falling over. Some of the students started latching on to each other protectively; Grayson snatched up Rory and, surprisingly enough, Honey and held them both close to his chest; Honey's face suddenly felt hot. Dew stabbed her spear into the ground to center herself and grabbed hold of Olive's hand, who in turn grabbed Domino's hand when the blind sniper started flailing across the floor. Octavia and Gwen fell over one another, Tawny and Nila smacked into the wall, and Stella and Nebula landed near each other on the floor.

"Stel, what the hell is going on!" screamed Nebula.

"The worst thing you could possibly imagine!" Stella yelled back. "We accidentally released an Ancient Grimm from its cage."

"An Ancient Grimm? Are you freakin' kidding me?" shouted Nebula, more annoyed than upset. "Who in their Oum-damn minds would break an Ancient Grimm free?"

"Would it make a difference if I said I was sorry?" asked Honey.

"NO!" shouted everyone in unison.

The hole in the middle of the floor made by the Talpid Grimm suddenly collapsed and expanded its reach, dropping everyone in the chamber over the edge into the pit of darkness. But just as they started to fall, a blast of hot wind and a noise like clapping thunder burst from the shadows and shot the huntsmen through the hole in the ceiling. The squall lifted the twelve surviving students through a winding series of tunnels where they popped out in the sand slide they had rode through the beginning of the initiation. As the heated gust carried them up to the quicksand ceiling, Nebula turned to her best friend with an angry glare.

"If we survive this, we're no longer friends," said Nebula

"Yeah, that sounds reasonable," said Stella.

And they passed through the unstable ceiling of sand to emerge onto the mountaintop outside.

* * *

 **One more team chapter left, then it will be a giant-sized (hopefully) fight chapter consisting of all twelve characters working together. But before that, I still need ideas for Dew and Octavia's weapon names, so please share your ideas whether in a review of PM.**

 **On a completely unrelated note, pleas read and review.**


	8. Going Under, Part 4

**Vol 1, Episode 7: Going Under, Part 4**

Stella couldn't quite understand how it happened. She had only been a few _inches_ from reaching the edge of the sand pit, then the headmistress pulled out her watch, and did something that put her straight back to the starting point. Was it her semblance? Stella had heard of some semblances that could alter the position of people or objects at will, but they were just baseless rumors. It probably should matter at this point, Stella thought, now that she was under the mountain and now plummeting more than thirty feet into a deep, dark tunnel below. She had been the last one to fall through, so the rest of the students were already freefalling below her. It was easy to make out some of the students like Grayson – being the biggest and bulkiest of the lot – but Stella had lost track of her best friend despite her hair color being so attention grabbing.

When the tunnel started to curve, the huntsmen braced themselves for, most curling into a protective ball. A flash of green out of the corner of her eye made Stella turn her head and watched Olive Evergreen hit the slope on top of her aura shield, riding the energy weapon with her arms outstretched like a surfer on a board. Just behind her, Domino Bones separated her rifle into a pair of pistols and started shooting rapid fire at the ground. The area she was shooting at suddenly turned into a puddle of mud (she must have used a combination of earth and water Dust, thought Stella). The blind sniper braced herself as she hit the mud puddle with a loud _**squelching**_ noise, cushioning her fall before she started to tumble down the slope behind Olive.

As impressed as Stella had been by their cleverness, she should have been paying more attention to where she was falling. Without even realizing it, the aspiring archeologist slammed into Honey's broad back – the bear Faunus had been glowing yellow and falling slower than everyone else until they suddenly crashed together. Honey's concentration was broken and she suddenly started falling at normal speed, crashing onto the sand slide with her stomach before she too started sliding. Stella landed not long afterwards, hitting the slope at an angle with her shoulder that made an audible _**cracking**_ noise and sending a flare of white-hot sensation running up and down the length of her arm. The shorter huntress winced as she gripped her shoulder – it was definitely dislocated – when Honey wrapped her long, bulky arm around her waist and pulled her close to the bear Faunus's chest.

"Ya'll okay der, pardner?" asked Honey with a hint of concern. Stella was impressed that she wasn't angry about crashing into each other. "Ooh, that looks bad."

"I've had worse," said Stella casually. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the bone back into its socket with a cringe-worthy snap. "Yaaah…okay, that's better."

"That is the most disturbing and disgusting thing I've ever seen," said Honey before breaking out into a wide grin. "You're so cool!"

Meanwhile, Olive skillfully weaved around the bodies fumbling and flailing on her energy shield like she had been practicing for just such an occasion. Many looked to her like an opportunity to save themselves and reached out when she got close enough, but Olive tilted the Spring Lotus in the opposite direction when they tried to grab her and slid away. She was a nice girl, but she knew they were only after her weapon and wouldn't hesitate to steal it, especially now that the solid rock wall with its many tunnel systems fast approaching. Everyone started pushing one way or another when the obstacle appeared before them trying to slip through one of the holes in the wall and avoid crashing with enough force that could potentially kill them.

"Ma'am, quickly, grab my hand!"

Olive looked over to her right side and spotted her…companion, Dew Gayl stretching out her hand toward her. Olive tilted the Spring Lotus sideways and extended her arm towards Dew. Just as their fingers brushed against one another, Stella's best friend (Nebula, if she recalled correctly) suddenly zoomed into sight and slammed bodily into Dew, sending both woman spinning out of control. Dew and Nebula slipped through one of the tunnels just beyond Olive's reach and out of sight.

"Dew!" cried Olive fretfully.

The princess's cries rang out nice and clear for all to hear, especially for Domino. Though the sniper's vision was usually just an endless void of darkness, there were times when soundwaves in the form of white ripples bounced off surfaces and back to her, painted a picture in the back of her mind. And through the use of her semblance, Domino could imagine faint blobs of color that represented the auras of other people. Stella's aura was a dark shade of blue, almost like midnight, while Honey's was a sickeningly bright yellow like her namesake. And olive's aura came back to Domino as a tranquil shade of green; very peaceful and very relaxing. Domino smirked to herself.

The bi-colored huntress raised her right arm and a grappling hook shot from her wrist, stabbing the top of the rock wall and lowering its anchors to strengthen the grip. With another tug of her wrist, Domino was pulled forward by the grapnel, soaring over the heads of dozens of shocked-looking students (not that she could see their faces). As she started to fly over Olive, the blind sniper suddenly reached down and snatched the privileged huntress by back of her dress. Olive let out a loud yelp as she was suddenly lifted off her feet; she made sure to pick up her weapon before it was lost. The shield maiden looked up mouth agape at Domino, who seemed to sense Olive's bewilderment and smiled like she had won the lottery.

"Who are – Miss Bones, what are you doing?" asked Olive, flabbergasted.

"Hang on tight, Princess," said Domino. "We're taking the scenic route."

Another sharp tug from her wrist and the pair shot through the air faster; Olive let out a surprised squeal. Domino was very grateful for that because Olive's screaming created enough sound to 'see' the waves bounce off the wall and spotted the mouth of the tunnels. She detached the grappling hook from the wall and both girls glided into one of the upper tunnels safely.

Meanwhile, Stella was straddling Honey's waist as the Bear Faunus slid on her back and both of them were getting closer to the wall. Stella took note that only a few of the potential hunters managed to divert their course and take the smaller tunnels to other parts of the mountain – a smart tactic as they were less likely to come across larger swarms of Grimm that way. But her concern was with the number of students falling through into the central hole in the wall, which was vastly larger than any of the other tunnels. It was obviously larger because it would draw in a bigger crowd of people, no doubt into a nest of monsters just waiting to pick them off. Stella frowned.

'Honey, we need to go through the middle," said Stella seriously.

"Ya sure?" asked Honey, tilting her head back to look at the route. "I dunno, pardner, that road looks more suspicious than my niece at a sleepover in the middle of winter. 'Sides, weren't y'all sayin' somethin' last night 'bout Grimm being way attracted to crowd o' people? The number of people going through there, it might as well be an all-ya-can-eat-buffet."

"And that's why we have to go after them," said Stella firmly. "They may be our competition now, but they're still people. It wouldn't feel right passing this test if it meant not giving others a chance."

"Your body may be tiny and your boobs may be flat," said Honey teasingly; Stella's eyes were burning with building fury, "but your heart is as big as the Colorless Desert. All right, hang on now, ya hear."

Before Stella had a chance to brace herself, Honey pulled the shorter girl down into her chest, smothering Stella between her boobs, and pulled her arms and legs in to curl up into a ball. Honey tilted her body to one side and the two of the started rolling into the center of the tunnel, sliding into the middle tunnel just moments before a roar of noise sealed the tunnel behind them (Rory's work, they discovered later) and everything went dark.

The path taken by Domino and Olive was precariously short, only sliding down the mildly steep incline for two minutes before the ground started to level and the tunnel dumped them out into a new section of the mountain. The blind sniper gracefully landed on her feet, splashing around sand that unintentionally dusted Olive's clothes and sprayed her face, causing her to cough in mild discomfort. Domino courteously set the shield maiden on her feet and brushed the sand off her dress in an uncharacteristically generous fashion. Olive stared down at the sniper with a raised brow of suspicion, not that Domino could see it anyway. Once wiping away the last grain on Olive's shoulder, Domino stepped back with a polite nod.

"There you are, Princess," said Domino. "All spick-and-span. Now I won't have to hear an earful from your bodyguard about you getting dirty."

"Thank you…,' said Olive slowly.

"You sound a little skeptical, Princess," said Domino, still speaking pleasantly without a show of offense. "You're not nervous about being around me, are you? No…your voice doesn't sound like it's afraid. Mistrusting, maybe? You think I'm someone suspicious, Princess?"

"No…it's just…," said Olive, frowning. "We've never really talked before other than a few minutes at breakfast, and then you suddenly whisk me away from my friends, taking us somewhere where they can't find us, and then you are acting polite for no reason. Forgive me for saying, but I can't trust someone I hardly know, especially people that pretend to be nice without cause."

"Heh, I severely underestimated your intelligence; I sincerely apologize for that," said Domino playfully, giving her partner a deep bow. "It's smart to be suspicious of strange people, especially when you're living in a completely different kingdom away from the people you knew…or the people who know you, Princess."

"And that's another thing," said Olive, crossing her arms and glaring. "My name is Olive Evergreen, not Princess."

"Whatever you say, Princess," said Domino teasingly. She couldn't see her partner's face, but Domino had the suspicion that she was pouting. "Hey, I know you don't trust me and all – which is a good idea – could you do me a favor. I need you to scream as loud as you can."

"What/" said Olive in bewilderment.

"Scream – really loud – loud enough to fill this place," Domino repeated with particular emphasis. Olive looked as clueless as ever; Domino sighed. "Okay, you already know I'm blind, right? Well, when my eyes went out, my other senses were maxed out, especially my sense of hearing. With this special doodad on my face – " she adjusted her visor " – I can 'see' things in my head the same way bats can: with echolocation. But it can only work when there's a lot of noise around, so I need you to give me a good, long scream to fill up the place so I can map out the area and find the exit quicker."

"Okay, that makes sense," said Olive understandingly. "Give me a moment."

Olive took a step forward into the cavernous terrain while Domino took a few steps back with her hands partially covering her ears; loud noises at close range can be more harmful than helpful to a blind person. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly…inhale…exhale…. And then, taking one deep breath, Olive let out the loudest screams that her lungs could muster.

It was like dropping a large stone in still water; white ripples rolled in waves from Olive in synchronized repetition and expanded in every direction, passing over objects of which Domino memorized to create a quick sketch in her brain. The cavern that they had dropped in to wasn't as big as the lower levels, probably only a slight bit smaller than the school's massive auditorium. Most of the cavern was taken up by gigantic, thick columns of bedrock that started from the floor and climbed to the top of the cavern; they must have been what were keeping the mountain from falling on top of their heads, Domino thought. And when the echoes reached to the farthest ends of the cavern, Domino could 'see' the sound bouncing around the openings of two other tunnels. What lay beyond those tunnels was a mystery because they went beyond Domino range of hearing. Either way, they at least knew where they were going now.

"Okay, you can stop!" shouted Domino over the Princess's wails.

Olive silenced her voice, taking deep, exhausted breaths while rubbing her throat, which felt raw. The final ripples of white noise cleared from Domino's 'vision', leaving her once again in pitch darkness. But during all the screaming, the blind sniper had completely missed the soft hisses and the sound of slithering bodies from the ceiling.

"Thanks for that, Princess," said Domino, clapping her partner on the shoulder. "There are two tunnels out of here, not including the one we just came from. One tunnel is north-by-northwest and only a quarter klick away. The other tunnel is headed in the northeast direction, but it's half a klick away. I don't know which way is best since I can't see that far, but tactically speaking, taking the tunnel north-by-northwest would reduce the amount of time we have to spend out in the open, which limits the time the Grimm have to ambush us. Then again, if they did catch us, we'd still have to fight our way out. What do you think, Princess?"

"I'd rather not spend much time here as well," said Olive, standing up straight. "I just want to get back to Dew as quickly as possible."

"North-by-northwest it is," said Domino. She clicked her two pistols together into Pandora's rifle form and hefted it over her shoulder. "Allow me to escort you, Madame."

"If you would please, good sir," said Olive playfully. If Domino was going to keep teasing her, she may as well play along.

Domino readjusted the strap on her shoulder and started walking north-by-northwest while Olive stayed close behind her, hands folded in front of her and touching the ground so lightly Domino would have thought she was walking on air. As they walked towards the first support column, Domino reached her hand out and brushed the surface of the stone, sliding it along as they walked around. Her memory was good enough to map out the terrain, but it always felt more assuring to actually touch something rather than second guess herself. They walked towards the next column and Domino did the same thing. By the third support pillar, Olive couldn't help thinking about a certain phrase about the blind leading that would be suitable for this situation. But while Olive failed to notice it, Domino could have sworn she heard something coming from the ceiling. It sounded like skin brushing against stone like she was doing, only on a much larger scale. But when Domino tried to use her semblance and couldn't see anyone other than Olive's calming-green aura, it made her suspicious.

"I've been wondering about something," said Olive suddenly. Domino's hand flew to her chest with an exaggerated gasp; she felt like her heart was about to jump out of her chest. "I couldn't help notice certain…things about you, for a lack of a better term."

"Ooh, checking out the goods, are ya?" said Domino in the same sensuous voice she used on Stella. Olive was less than impressed.

"It's about your technology," said Olive, getting straight to the point. "You already said that you were from Atlas, which would explain why it's much more advanced than anything in Vacuo, but that can't explain why your weapon is made from adamantine ore. That is one of the rarest materials in Remnant, found only in certain deposits in the deepest deserts of Vacuo. In its raw form, it very fragile and useless, but when purified and refined, adamantine can be one of the strongest and most versatile metals in the world. But only highly decorated members of the Atlesian Military are allowed to have weapons made of adamantine. If you can be accommodated with such rare material, why are you in Vacuo?"

"Well, aren't you a nosy one?" said Domino teasingly. "I could ask the same about you, Olive Evergreen. What's the daughter of the Remnant Ore Distribution Company doing in the boonies?"

The blind sniper heard Olive stop walking, picturing the look on the privileged girl's face.

"You know who I am?" asked Olive, sounding surprised.

"Like you said, I was in the military," said Domino with a confident smirk. "Of course we would know about our biggest benefactors next to the Schnee Dust Company. With your kind of money, you could easy get into a fancy school like Beacon. Why choose the poorest school in all of Remnant."

"I have nothing to hide," said Olive firmly. "It's a tradition in my family that everyone must attend Shade Academy, and if they survive all four years, then they will be ready to take over the company."

"You say survive as in…," said Domino slowly.

"The Evergreen family chooses Shade _**because**_ it's the poorest and most dangerous school in Remnant," Olive continued. "Headmistress Blanche already said that more people die in Shade Academy than anywhere else. Out here, you can't depend on others to take care of everything for you. There are no five star meal, no comfortable beds, and have you seen the school's plumbing – it's terrifying. A school like Shade forces you to learn self-sufficiency, otherwise you may very well die out here. My mother always taught me that you can't lead others if you can't lead yourself. So that's why we come here – to learn the value of hard work first hand."

"Okay, I can respect that," said Domino, nodding appreciatively. "But I'm still not telling you my secret."

"No fair!" whined Olive.

The blind sniper threw her head back and let out a barking laugh that echoed off the walls, causing Olive to pout. Before the privileged huntress had a chance to retort, she noticed something moving in front that cause her to stop moving. A massive snake's head – its scale blacker than the darkest night with bulbous red eyes and white bone covering – slithered out from behind one of the pillars, its tongue licking the air as it glared down at Domino with hungry eyes. Domino didn't seem to sense its presence as she walked closer toward it. When the huntress was only feet away, the Grimm lunges at her. Just before the snake could sink its fangs into flesh, Olive tackled Domino out of the way and the monster smashed its face into the ground, splashing sand everywhere. Domino hit the floor face first with Olive landing on her back, one hand on the back of the sniper's head to hold her down.

"What was that?" asked Domino in a brief panic.

"King Taijitu!" shouted Olive shortly.

The king snake reeled back and shook its head free of dizziness before it turned its bulbous eyes on the huntress pair. The King Taijitu hissed and lunged at them again. Olive flicked her wrist and the Spring Lotus expanded into its Aura Shield Form. The privileged huntress raised her weapon in front and braced herself as the King Taijitu slammed into her head-on, pushing Olive back a few inches both otherwise managing to hold her ground with a surprising show of strength. And as Olive butted heads with the king snake, Domino pulled off her rifle and aimed the barrel at the general direction of the Grimm. The blind sniper fired off two shots at the monster, but the bullets went wildly off course, not even coming close to hitting the king snake. Olive, still pushing back against the Grimm, looked back and shouted:

"You're missing by miles!"

"It's not my fault!" snapped Domino. "Grimm don't have souls, so they don't have aura! I'm blinder against them than I already am!"

"What kind of a Huntress are you?" said Olive aghast. But her annoyance quickly shifted to a look of fear when she saw something slither into sight above Domino's head. "Oh no…Domino! Jump, now!"

The blind sniper didn't question the demand – she could already predict what was coming.

Quick as a flash, Domino bounded to her feet and then gave a might jump backwards as the second head of the King Taijitu – this one white as paper – snapped its fangs at the ground where she once stood. While nimbly flipping through the air, Domino separated her rifle into twin pistols and unloaded her entire clip on the massive snake, bullets beating down on the top of its head like hail. The Taijitu White flinched and coiled in on itself defensively without noticing that the blind sniper had landed on its forehead. Domino quickly discarded the empty magazines and brushed her fingers against the pockets of her utility belt, feeling the raised dots that made up the blind language. When she found what she was looking for, Domino opened the pouch and whipped out two magazines of yellow bullets before reloading her pistols. Just as the Taijitu White was starting to realize what was happening, Domino fired a single shot where she estimated the Grimm's eye would be. The bulbous organ was punctured and a surge of electricity course through its body, causing the Taijitu White to flail and hiss while throwing off the sniper – Domino caught herself and landed on her feet.

The electrical current carried through the King Taijitu's body and passed over to the Taijitu Black, which started to hiss and flail like its white counterpart. The snake head raised itself up with a painful shriek, leaving its body completely exposed to Olive. The shield maiden raised her free palm parallel to the King Taijitu's body and pressed forward with a heavy palm strike. The Grimm's scale rippled like water as the air exploded into a shock wave of force when her hand made contact. The King Taijitu – black and white – were thrown back, scrapping the ground, hitting one of the pillars in the middle, and wrapping around until their heads collided with an ear-wrenching _**crack,**_ like the sound of splitting bones. Of course, Domino and Olive weren't about to get their hopes up. Both heads slithered around the pillar, shaking their heads and glaring at the pair (the white head only having one visible eye left).

"I'm no good with CQC, especially against Grimm!" called Domino. "I need to put distance between myself and it so I can line up a good shot!"

"You said you can't see the Grimm!" Olive shouted back.

"But I can see you!" retorted Domino. "And if I can see you, I can get a good idea of where the Grimm is!"

"But – "

"Olive, you have to trust me on this!" said Domino insisted urgently. "I swear, I won't let anything happen to you! Have faith in me!"

Olive stared at her partner with hesitation…then she nodded and took off after the King Taijitu while Domino disappeared behind the pillars.

Both heads of the massive king snake slithered across the sand in concert. Taijitu Black lunged at Olive first, but the shield maiden flipped over the Grimm's fangs and landed on it forehead when it hit the ground. The lighter half of the monster slipped around and lunged at Olive from the side, but the huntress once again leaped over it head and landed on the nape, sliding down its smooth scales. As she glided along the King Taijitu's body, Olive pulled back her arm and launched her Spring Lotus through the air. The aura shield nailed the white head between the eyes, making it recoil, and then ricocheted off a pillar and the ground before slamming the underside of the black head, causing it to flop backwards.

The Spring Lotus was starting to fly back to Olive and the huntress reached out to pluck it from the air when the white Taijitu suddenly shot out of nowhere and slammed into Olive's side. The shield maiden was thrown a ways and tumbled across the ground; her shield landed in the sand beyond her reach. Olive picked herself up, rubbing the soreness in her side, when the Taijitu Black reared its head and dived at the privileged huntress with its fangs exposed.

Then suddenly, it was like a switch had been flipped in Olive's brain, shutting down all thought and feeling and leaving her with focused objective. This had been the second time it a week that Olive's mind had felt so clear; the first time had been against the assassin's son whose legs were now gone because of her.

With a calm and impassive expression, Olive raised her right hand in a slow, sweeping motion and took a deep breath; a thin layer of green aura suddenly radiated from her palms. As the Taijitu Black approached her, Olive coolly threw out her open palm to meet the Grimm's fangs halfway. The sound of shattered glass echoed in the cavern; Olive's hands passed through the Grimm's fang as if she were punch wet paper, breaking down the bone into tiny, shard-like fragments. Olive's hand continued to push forward until it reached the roof of the snake's mouth, breaking through the scale and bone just as easily as it had done with its fang and came out through the top of the monster's head. The Grimm made no noise as its head was broke up into a million black shards, dotting the sand like grains of pepper.

Meanwhile, Domino remained hidden in her perch halfway up a pillar on the far side of the cavern with a grapple line tied to her waist and her scope to her eye(and pointless effect due to her blindness, she admitted, but it was a habit). She had watched the soft-green aura bounce around from place-to-place like a firefly in the night sky. Then – for only the briefest of moments – her aura disappeared. What sounded like breaking glass echoed in her eardrums shortly followed by a familiar hissing-screech. The blind sniper wasn't about to ask what the first sound was as she reloaded Pandora and sharply pivoted toward the second noise and pulled the trigger. The bullet sailed through the air and, by some miracle in Domino's opinion, became lodged in the damaged eye socket of the Taijitu White. The king snake shrieked again before the dust inside the bullet was released, creating a contained explosion that blast the King Taijitu's remaining head to ash.

The Grimm evaporated into a black mist. Domino lowered herself down by her grapple and approached her partner hesitantly. Seeing someone's aura just disappear and come back again to Domino was like watching someone die and then coming back to life – it was a very disturbing concept.

"Hey, you okay there, Princess," asked Domino uncertainly.

"Yeah…I'm fine," said Olive. "My um…instincts kinda took over for a minute, at least that's what Mr. Qrow called them, anyway. But I'm good now – I'm fine."

"Well, that's a relief," said Domino with a teasing chuckle. "It'd be hard to ransom you off if you died."

"Um…," said Olive, blinking.

"It was a joke, Princess," said Domino blankly. "C'mon, let's get out of here before we end up running into something worse, like a Giant Nevermore or something even worse than that."

* * *

Stella once fell off a plateau during an excavation with her father and broke nearly every bone in her body while rupturing her liver and kidney and punctured both of her lungs. Within two hours, she was walking again like nothing happened. Then there was the time Stella contracted the Marburg virus when she was six that caused high fever, convulsions, internal bleeding, and total organ failure. She was immune within half-an-hour and Atlesian scientists used her antibodies to eradicate the virus permanently. So after all that, Stella never imagined that suffocation by boobs would be the way she would go out.

The bear Faunus had her tiny partner locked in a vice grip against her chest for the past five minutes as they rolled and rolled down the slope – it was a very dizzying experience for them both. When the tunnel finally leveled out, Honey and Stella hit the ground and bounced forward by several feet, landing face-first into the sand covered floor. Stella lifted her upper body with an exaggerated gasp, taking several long and deep breaths; Honey pulled herself up to her elbows and looked at her partner strangely.

Finally catching their breath and pushing themselves up to their feet, Stella and Honey took in the new terrain. Compared to the other sections of the mountain that hunters like Nebula, the step-sisters, Grayson, Nila, and Olive landed in; the area that they wound up it was fairly bland and lacked any defining details. The cavern was dome-shaped like Shade's auditorium, but only half the size, with at least two dozen tunnels lined around the walls that lead in every cardinal direction. There were no rock formations, or ancient ruins, or crystalline plant life – just a stretch of smooth sand on the ground. Seventy plus students were also present, running and pacing between the tunnels, shouting at each other in confused and panicked voices.

"We have to go through here! This is the way out!"

"How the hell would you know? That probably leads to a Grimm nest or something!"

"Callum, where are you? Has anyone seen my little brother?"

"Why did I agree to this? I don't wanna die here!"

"They all plum lost their gol dern minds," said Honey, hands on her hips.

"They're just afraid," said Stella understandingly. "They've just been dropped into unknown territory without any idea of how to escape or if it's even safe to move ahead. And that fact that this mountain is standing on top of the largest Grimm nest in Vacuo doesn't help much either. But if they don't calm down, they're going to bring down every Sand Worm and Antlion in the mountain on top of us."

"Yeah, I don't see that happenin'," said Honey as one of the initiates punched another in the face. "Gettin' these folk ta calm down is like trying to tame a free-roaming mustang usin' a gallon o' gasoline, a box o' matches, and a rattlesnake."

"…I don't really get your analogies," said Stella blankly; Honey just shrugged her shoulders. "Well, we need to get them all to cool it for a minute, and then we can find our way out. Hey, everyone, listen up – "she shouted, walking toward the middle of the cavern " – Hey, guys, over here! I – guy! Hey, listen to me! Can you just for a – look over – don't just – HEY!"

But despite all her shouting and hand wave, no one seemed to give the aspiring archeologist the slightest glance – Honey remarked it was because she was too small for everyone to see, which prompted a glare from said shorty. So with a deep huff of annoyance, Stella reached over her shoulder and detached her massive cannon from the magnetic plate underneath her jacket. The small huntress pointed the barrel to the ceiling and fired off a blank round that emitted a sound like a miniature explosion. The initiates jumped together and spun around towards the source of the noise, some of them drawing their weapons out of reflex. Stella sighed again; now she got their attention. Stella opened her mouth to say something when Honey suddenly grabbed the nape of her jacket, lifted the shorter girl off her feet, and settled her on the bear Faunus' shoulder. Normally, Stella would have felt insult, but since this meant that everyone could see her now, the cannon wielder muttered a short 'Thanks' in her ear.

"No problem," whispered Honey.

"Okay, everyone listen up!" Stella shouted loud enough to echo on the walls. "I get that you're scared right now, but you need to calm down! We are literally standing on the biggest Grimm nest in the kingdom and they're attracted to negative feelings like fear and hostility! If you don't cool your heads, we're gonna end up calling the whole swarm!"

"How can you expect us to calm down?" shouted a girl with short pink hair. "That little brat dropped us in the middle of Oum-knows-where and said we're going to die!"

The crowd was starting to get restless again; Stella bit her lip anxiously.

"Okay, okay, settle down!" Stella continued. "I know this looks bad – because it doesn't, I know – but we can survive this! We all knew what we were getting ourselves into when we came to Shade Academy! We knew that it was going to be hard, and there was no guarantee that we were going to make it out alive! The Headmistress told us directly to our faces that the odds were against us, and we could have walked out that door with the rest of those people that ran away! But we stayed because we understood the risk that comes with being huntsmen! Out there in the real world, the Grimm aren't gonna give us detention or a slap on the wrist! They destroy everyone and everything in their path! If you all are serious about being huntsmen, then this is just the first step on a very, very long road!"

"That's a nice speech and all," said a boy with an orange Mohawk, "but that's not gonna get us out of this hellhole!"

"If you would shut up and listen, I can tell you that I know how to escape!" snapped Stella. There was a flurry of activity among the initates when those words spilled from her lips. Many of them looked relieved, if somewhat hopeful, while other glared at her with critical skepticism. "My dad is an archeologist and a professor at Shade! He studied Mt. Sable for months, mapping all of the tunnels and the hotspots for Grimm in his notebooks! I read those books and I memorized the entire layout of the mountain!"

"You just happen to read your dad's notebook about this particular mountain?" asked Honey, peeking up with a hint of doubt.

"I've memorized all of my dad's notebooks," Stella explained pointedly, "even the ones with his crazy conspiracy theories about how Remnant was created by some animation studio called Roosterteeth and that we're all just fictional characters in an online web series."

"No offense, darlin', but your dad is nuts," said Honey.

"He has his moments," muttered Stella, before speaking out loud. "There are nine ways to get out of the mountain! Five of them are located at the base of the mountain, but the lower sections are teeming with hundreds of Grimm. You'd have to be completely suicidal to head that way! There's also the way we came from, but I seriously doubt any of us are gonna be able to climb all the way up there! And then there are the three hidden cavern entrances on the sides of the mountain! These are the best options as they are the quickest routes out with less Grimm hotspots along the way!"

"How are we supposed to get there?" asked a green-haired boy in a sundress.

"We're already in the nexus of the mountain," said Stella with a wave of her hand. "These tunnels can literally go anywhere. Any of these tunnels can lead to the exits if you know where you're going, but the quickest ways are there, there, and…there," she said, pointing out the three tunnels; the other students looked around in relief. "They should be a straight forward path if you – "

"Hold on a minute!" shouted a spiky-haired blonde. "Why should we have to listen to you?"

"Uh…because she knowns the way out," said Honey with her brow raised.

"But how do we know that?" asked the boy in a paranoid tone of voice. "How do we know she isn't just trying to lead us into some kind of trap, huh? Yeah, I bet that's exactly what she wants. She's trying to off all of us so that she can win this whole thing for herself!"

"It's a competition, it's about survival," argued Stella, looking very much insulted. "If everyone dies, there are no winners."

"Except you," retorted the boy, turning on his heel and walking toward a random tunnel. "I'll bet ya _this_ is the real way out."

"No, you can't go in there!" yelled Stella fretfully. "That leads to an Antlion colony!"

"Yeah, right!" scoffed the boy.

Stella started to call out to him, try to convince him that he was making a terrible mistake, but the stubborn fool had already marched his way into the dark tunnel, and Stella voice became lost in here throat. The muttering returned in higher volume among the initiates; those who had looked up to Stella in hope were now staring at her with suspicion and distrust. Stella sighed and shook her head. That was the mentality of humanity, she supposed. The slightest notion of fear can spread through the masses faster than wild fire, leading humanity to turn against one another at the drop of a lien; it's why everyone was so quick to turn on the Faunus.

The young archeologist tapped Honey's shoulder, signaling that she wanted to get down. The bear Faunus had just set her partner down on the sand when a loud noise echoed from the tunnels, causing everyone to freeze in place. That was definitely a scream, Stella thought, and it definitely belonged to that paranoid boy who had stupidly wandered off. The initiates closest to the tunnel started to back away at the same time a chorus of repeating skittering noises started getting louder from the same tunnel. Stella immediately recognized the sound and screamed at the top of her lungs:

"ANTLIONS!"

Dozens of insectoid Grimm spilled out of the tunnel, crawling along the sand covered floor and the walls around them like a moving black curtain. Most of the initiates pivoted on their heels and ran for the opposite end of the cavern while a small number remained frozen in place, quivering with petrified looks of terror. The Antlion swarm swept over them like a rolling black wave. While a small number of their classmates were running away with their tails between their legs, more than half of the huntsmen hopefuls stood their ground and draw their weapons of the Grimm, including Stella with her cannon and Honey with her clawed gauntlets. When the Antlion swarm were halfway across the cavern and the cowardly initiates were out of sight (having followed Stella's escape route), the students let out furious battle cries and rushed forward to meet the monsters.

Chaos was the best word Stella could use to describe the battle. Everywhere the shorter huntress looked, it was like being trapped in a forest of moving black trees with only sparse traces of color flickering through the gaps here and there. Stella shot one of the Antlions in the face at close range, blasting its face into hundreds of black chunks, stepped on the dying monster's thorax and threw herself into the air before it dissolved into nothingness. Soaring through the air like she was, Stella took a good look around the battlefield to assess the situation.

The huntsmen were putting up a valiant fight, pushing back against waves after waves of Antlions that did not know how to quit. The pink-haired girl from earlier was shooting her pistol between the eyes of the Antlions with amazing accuracy until one of them slipped past her defenses and pinned her to the floor. The Antlion snapped its serrated mandibles threateningly near her face, but the pink-haired threw her hands in front of the monster's face and bolts of lightning flew out from her fingers, searing the insect's face into a melted husk. The boy with the green Mohawk was swinging his tomahawk (Heh, that rhymed, thought Stella) across the face of any Antlion that came close, splitting the beasts cleanly in half. He allowed one to get close to him, only to crush its skull with his bare hand and swing around its dead carcass liker a flail. And the boy in the sundress…well, Stella didn't really know what to make of that one. He seemed to exhibit an aura that made everyone – human and Grimm – to fall asleep. That had to be the weirdest one yet in Stella's opinion.

When Stella chanced a glance at Honey, she was surprised to see the bear Faunus taking on eight Antlion's at once while shielding another hunter that was bleeding from his leg. One of the insectoid Grimm skittered closer with its mandible snapping, but Honey stepped forward suddenly and kicked the beast in the face, sending it flying halfway across the cavern. She turned on her heel sharply and back fisted another before bringing up her knee to connect with the underside of an Antlion's face when it moved in front of her. Then another Antlion came around from her side, but the bear Faunus threw her hand out and snatched the Grimm by its mandible, holding it in place as she pulled her fist back –

Stella didn't get a chance to see what happened next before she landed back on the ground, shooting another Antlion in the face when he started crawling toward her. The aspiring archeologist frowned, ducking and shooting her way through the field of Antlions. Despite their best efforts, Stella could tell that the huntsmen were quickly losing ground. Their numbers were quickly diminishing due to injury or death while the Antlions kept coming through the tunnel. If this kept going, everyone was going to die…. They needed to fall back….

Stella turned Void Gear's handle and the barrel turned until the yellow Dust side was on top. The aspiring archeologist pointed the cannon to the ceiling like she had done before and pulled the trigger with an ear-splitting _**boom**_! The bullet hit the ceiling and a ball of electrical energy formed above, crackling so loudly that everyone stopped and stared. The ball of electrical energy just seemed to hang there for a long moment…then a bolt of lightning flew across the cavern and struck the ground, coming between an Antlion and the pink-haired huntress. Another bolt shot away, narrowly hitting one of the huntsmen in the face. A third bolt of electricity flew and struck down one of the Antlions. From that point, more and more bolts of lightning started shooting in every direction, causing both the Huntsmen and the Grimm to run for cover. Thankfully, the two sides ran in opposite directions, just as Stella hoped.

"Everyone into the tunnels!" shouted Stella over the chaos. "Follow the path and it'll get you out of the mountain!"

The other huntsmen didn't need to be told twice. They ducked their heads and weaved through the lightning storm, filing inside the tunnel that Stella was indicating. The shorter Huntress stood on one side of the tunnel, urging everyone inside, deciding not to leave until everyone was out safely. Honey even helped by carrying the people that were too injured to walk themselves through. But as the last of the initiates were shoving their way inside, Stella's storm finally died out and the Antlions hissed viciously, looks of loathing in their bulbous yellow eyes. When the last flicker of electricity died out, the Antlions immediately started skittering across the cavern in waves, but Stella gave them a victorius smirk as the last of the huntsmen slipped inside the tunnel.

Now that she knew that everyone was safe, Stella walked backwards into the tunnel herself, never taking her eyes off the Antlion swarm. Another _**click**_ and the Void Gear turned its barrel so that the brown Dust was pointed up. The history-loving huntress pointed her cannon to the top of the tunnels mouth and fired off a round, quickly running back as the cave opening started to collapse in on itself. As she wandered further and further down the passageway, she could hear the skittering of the Antlions slowly losing volume; she smirked to herself.

It was barely a minute's walk before she caught up with the rest of the initiates, all of the crammed inside three-way intersection, all of them looking exhausted and relieved.

"That was sum leadership-like skills out there, pipsqueak," said Honey, suddenly appearing next to Stella. She clasped the shorter woman by the shoulder and pulled her in; Stella's hair barely brushed the underside of Honey's boobs. "Y'all owe this here lil' midget a debt o' gratitude, y'all here!"

" **Who you calling a pipsqueak midget who can't even go to the beach because he's so small, he'd sink into the sand and when the tide comes in he doesn't even sink or have to worry about drowning because he's so microscopic he can breathe all the oxygen atoms in the water?** " shrieked Stella.

"She didn't even say that," said the initiates in exasperated unison.

"Well, the good news, at least, is that almost everyone managed to make it out safe," said Stella with a sigh. "So, are you people ready to listen to me."

"We're sorry we doubted you?" said the pink-haired huntress.

"Yeah, it'll never happen again," said the Mohawk boy.

"That's better," said Stella, pointing a finger to the right tunnel. "If you follow that route, you'll want to take the third right and then go straight ahead. The exit will be covered by a boulder, so you'll have to push it out of the way if you wanna get out."

"Wait, y'all ain't comin'?" asked Honey.

"I'm worried about Nebula," said Stella, frowning. "I know she can take care of herself, but there's no telling where she ended up or if she's by herself. I can't leave without knowing she's safe."

"Always stickin' by yer friends, eh?" said Honey, crossing her arms and nodding appreciatively. "That's cool, that's cool. All right then, I'ma comin' with y'all."

"You don't have to," aid Stella.

"I know I don't," said Honey. "But we're pardners, ya hear? You got my back and I got yours, ya hear?"

Stella could have argued that it would have been better for Honey to escape the mountain with the initiates, that she could take care of herself better than anyone, being a semi-unkillable huntress. But she had grown fond of the bear Faunus and felt assured that she had such a reliable partner watching over her. Honey smiled and held up her fist to her partner. Stella returned the smile and bumped her fist against the bear Faunus'.

* * *

Meanwhile, back outside at the top of Mt. Sable, Sinclair readjusted his glasses as he stared thoroughly at the Scroll in his hand. He had been watching everyone's progress thus far, and if he were to be honest, he was far from impressed with their performances. The team of Nebula and Dew survived their trial, but their teamwork was sorely lacking in part because of Dew's anti-social behavior. The step-sisters fared better, but they making a lot of unnecessary calls and their attacks were way too over the top. The Grayson and Rory pair was as mismatched as peanut butter and sardines; one was capable of being serious while the other was a complete goof. Nila and Tawny were equally dysfunctional as one was too aggressive and the other was too passive. And then there was Olive and Domino. It was obvious to Sinclair that Domino only chose to help the heiress because she wanted to take advantage of her position.

So after witnessing all disastrous matchings, Sinclair was genuinely surprised by Stella's role in saving everyone from certain death. She clearly knew her way around the mountain and could have easily left everyone to wander aimlessly while she made her escape, but she chose to stay behind and made sure everyone was all right. Sinclair shut off his Scroll and pushed his glasses back up, turning to Headmistress Blanche as the little rabbit girl nibbled on her ham and cheese sandwich.

"This year's batch of students are…interesting, to say the least," said Sinclair formally. "Especially Professor Stratos's daughter. It's refreshing to see such selflessness in this day and age."

"Sounds like Nova raised her right," said Headmistress Blanche, her cheeks stuffed and bits of food flying out of her tiny mouth. "But it isn't kinda cheating that she already knows her way around the mountain. The whole point of this thing is so that students can try to figure a way out for themselves and maybe fight with a couple Grimm or two. It's no fun if they know where everything is."

"I get the feeling you're about to do something very drastic," said Sinclair.

"I just want to make things a little more…interesting," said Headmistress Blanche, pulling out her pocket watch.

 _ **CLICK!**_

* * *

" – going through the layout in my head, I believe Nebula ended up in the old ruins," Stella told Honey as they turned yet another corner of the mountain maze. "So if we take the next right and go straight, we should come up to a tunnel that leads to the next lower level. But we'll have to be very quiet – the next level down has a mess of hotspots for Death Stalkers. Knowing Nebula, she probably already got into trouble with one."

"Hoo-wee, I'm plum lucky ta have y'all as ma pardner," said Honey, sounding very impressed. "If I'd ended up with anyone else, we'd prolyl be walking straight into a Sand Worm nest like couple o' blind turkeys."

"Yes, well, it's just one of the benefits of constant studying and hard work," said Stella, looking very pleased with herself.

"Must be hard to carry such a big brain in such a puny body," said Honey teasingly.

"WHO ARE CALLING A SHRIMP SO SMALL HE COULD RIDE ON THE BACK OF A GRASSHOPPER?!" screeched Stella, throwing up her arms in fury.

Honey laughed out loud; it was so easy to get her going. Stella grimaced and pouted before turning her back on the bear Faunus and walking away, stomping her feet to show how mad she was; Honey laughed louder.

They continued the path that Stella had laid out for them – taking the first right and then going straight at the crossroad – until the tunnel opened up into another wide cavern much bigger than the one they had come from. It was nearly the same size as Shade's auditorium with scattered ruins of wrecked buildings and broken bits of pottery half buried in sand. On the opposite side was a massive boulder that nearly took up the majority of the wall, leaving only some space for a bunch of strangely pattered scratches on the side. Stella and Honey crossed the length of the cavern and approached the boulder in no time at all, but the closer they walked up to it, the deeper Stella's frown became. Now that she was looking at it up close, the aspiring archeologist looked completely befuddled, tilting and scratching her head cluelessly.

"So ya think the tunnel's behind this rock?" asked Honey, gesturing her thumb to the boulder.

"That's what the map my dad made said," muttered Stella, sounding uncertain. "But…this isn't right. There shouldn't be a giant boulder blocking the way…. And these ruins… they're still perfectly preserved. When my dad found them, they were just piles of dust. Something isn't right here."

"All I need ta know is that this here rock's gettin' in the way," said Honey, cracking her knuckles. "Y'all just sit tight now. I'll have this outta the way in a jiff."

The bear Faunus assumed a boxer's stance with her fists raised in front of her as her aura suddenly flared, enveloping her body in a thin lay of yellow energy. Stella noticed out of the bottom of her eye that Honey's feet started to sink underneath the sand as if she were suddenly hundreds of pounds heavier than she had been seconds ago. Honey threw a jab at the boulder the moment the light died and a spider-web of cracks formed around the area where her fist had made contact. He pulled back her fist and threw another jab, making the web bigger.

"It'll only take a couple o' minutes," Honey said confidently, throwing another jab. "Won't take long."

Stella wasn't even paying attention at this point; her mind was still preoccupied by the sudden change in her mental map. Had she made a mistake…no, her dad's notes were very specific and Stella was certain she knew where she was going. So why was everything different than what she knew? The aspiring archeologist allowed her eyes to wonder as Honey went to work on the boulder and came to a stop at the strange scratches on the wall next to the obstruction. She silently walked over to the markings, brushing her hand with interest, tracing the strokes in the stone with her fingers thoughtfully.

"This looks like ancient pre-civilization writing," Stella muttered to herself. "Hmm…there are a few characters I can't make out, but…I think I can translate this…. Let see… ' _Beware, those who enter the monster's hive , Inside your fears will come alive –_ "

Honey punched again, making bigger cracks in the stone –

" _a foul beast that has ravaged a thousand homes, a beast of unstoppable might and insatiable hunger –_ "

Honey punched the stone again; the cobwebs of cracks spread across the entire surface –

" _To those that daring or foolish to unseal this tomb, be warned for you are entering the lair of…._ Oh god," Stella muttered, her eyes becoming wide with horror. She pivoted sharply on the balls of her feet and faced Honey as she pulled back her fist. "HONEY, WAIT, DON'T!"

Too late. The bear Faunus swung her fist around with all her might, smashing through the stone like cracks of thunder. The boulder broke apart in large fragments – first by ones and two, then the entire thing spilled over like a rock slide. Honey stepped back and waved her hand around as clouds of dust kicked up, obscuring her vision. The dust settled quickly and Honey put her fists to her hips, smiling in pride at the enormous tunnel that now lay before them. Stella walked over to her partner almost mechanically, her jaw locked in a dropped position and her pupils bulging. Honey mistook her horror for shock.

"Yeah, I don't like ta brag, but…these guns are smokin', as ma pa' would say," said Honey, proudly flexing her muscles. Her smirk dropped, however, when her shorter companion was still frozen in place. "Uh… Pardner, y'all okay there? It's not that surprisin' – "

"We screwed up," muttered Stella in a terrifyingly low voice. "Oh my Oum, we screwed up big time! We need to get out of here!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" yelped Honey when Stella started pulling on her arm. "What's the matter with y'all? It's just a dumb ol' rock. What's there to be scared of – "

That's when they both heard it – the deep, guttering rumble.

Stella and Honey turned to the source of the noise very, very slowly and faced the opening of the tunnel (or at least what they thought was a tunnel). It was difficult to see at first, but they both definitely saw something moving inside the darkness…something massive. It slithered around the walls like a King Taijitu, but there were too many to be a single King Taijitu and they were they moved in coordinated tangent showed they weren't acting separately. Then after another long moment, a muffled _**thud**_ filled the air, making the cavern quiver. Then another _**thud**_ , and then another quiver. _**Thud,**_ quiver. A shallow chorus of wet hissing joined in. Then finally, the creature inside emerged from the mouth of the tunnel, draping its many long shadows over Stella and Honey as it rose higher towards the ceiling. The pair of huntress tilted their heads back just to see the bottom of the monster's face, their mouths open, but couldn't bring themselves to utter a sound.

And when the monster leered down on them with burning-red eyes, Honey finally found her voice.

"We screwed up big time."

* * *

Nebula and Dew slid down the sandy ramp from the latest empty cavern that they had come from and found themselves at yet another crossroad – that must have been the third time in the last twenty minutes. There were eight tunnels leading in every direction, though they could rule out the one they just came from, limiting their choice to seven paths. While Dew turned in circles on her feet, frowning with uncertainty, Nebula peeked down one of the tunnel that opened a path downward with her hand on her chin thoughtfully.

"I think we should go down this way," said Nebula, gesturing over her shoulder. "The closer we get to the bottom, the more likely we'll be able to find a way out of the mountain. That's considering the Grimm didn't block the tunnels like the last two."

"I'm not looking for a way out," said Dew harshly. "I'm looking for the miss."

"Yeah, yeah, I get that," said Nebula indifferently. "But we can't just keep running around in circles hoping to find her – do you know how big this mountain is? It would take us days to map out the entire place, and I'm betting there're hundreds of Grimm swarming the tunnels looking for fresh meat. And besides, how do you know that Olive hasn't already made it out?"

"I can't leave without knowing the miss is safe!" said Dew firmly.

"Are you not listening to me?" said Nebula exasperatedly. "I just said she might – wait, do you hear that?" – she suddenly cut herself off and both girl stopped to listen. There was a high-pitched sequel echoing above them – "It's sounds like a little girl is in trouble."

The girlish scream was becoming strong with each second until both Huntresses could identify the origin and looked up to the hole in the ceiling. They saw a dark figure growing larger above their heads. It took a moment for them to recognize the shape and quickly dived out of the way before the object crashed into the ground where they had been standing previously. Nebula and Dew coughed as they waved the dust cloud away, looking up at Grayson, who was cradling Rory in his massive arms while the musician was shrieking at an impressively high pitch. Rory opened his eyes, still screaming, when he realized that they had stopped falling and his voice slowly died out when he realized that Dew and Nebula were staring at him. The Atlesian musician moved cautiously slow out of Grayson's arms back to the ground, brushed himself off, and coughed into his fist in a dignifying fashion.

"You're safe now, buddy," said Rory, patting Grayson's bulging arm.

"Nice save, man," said Nebula sarcastically with a thumbs up.

"Where did you two come from?" asked Dew.

"Up," said Grayson simply; Dew face-palmed. "We just barely got away from the Grimm."

"Yeah, just a couple hundred Sandworms," said Rory, strapping his guitar back into place. "It was no big deal."

"Did you run into anyone else?" asked Nebula.

"You're the first ones we met in a while," said Grayson.

"With over a hundred students taking the initiation, you'd think we'd have run into more people," said Nebula with a worrisome grimace. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Their thoughts were broken again by another sound – a deep rumbling noise beneath their feet. All blinked curiously and craned their heads down; a web of deep cracks started appearing in the stone floor. The group of four initiates swiftly jumped out of the way before the ground exploded and shot fragments of stone in every direction. The Huntsmen drew their weapons – Nebula with her crossbow, Dew with her spear, Grayson with his hammer, and Rory with his guitar. The group waited in silence, watching as two black-furred paws rose from the freshly made hole, each with four foot-long nails, and the pointed, mole-like face of the Talpid Grimm.

Nebula's finger itched to pull the trigger and let loose an arrow between the mole blind eyes. But as the Grimm pulled itself the rest of the way out of its newly made tunnel, the Huntsmen nearly dropped their weapons in shock of the two people that were riding the Grimm's back like a horse.

"Oh, it looks like you are all alive," said Tawny tranquilly.

"That sucks," grumbled Nila.

"Tawny? Nila?" said Nebula confused, lowering her weapon but not holstering it. "Where in Remnant have you two been? And why are you on top of a Talpid?"

"Okay, get this," said Nila, gesturing her thumb to the tattooed woman. "Turns out that Tawny Birch here has a semblance that can let her translate and speak in all languages, including Grimm."

"After Nila Wright nearly got us killed by attacking a colony of Talpid," said Tawny, gently petting the Talpid's head while ignoring her partner's glare, "I managed to convince them that we were not the enemies and that we simply wanted to move on. Naturally, most of the Grimm did not care what we wanted and tried to kill us, but I did manage to convince one of them to help. Despite appearance, he really is a good Grimm – "

 _ **BANG!**_

Nebula clung to Dew, Rory jumped back into Grayson's arms, and Tawny and Nila fell backwards onto the ground as the gunshot rang through the tunnels and the Talpid's head exploded; it evaporating corpse dropping sideways in front of one of the tunnels. Domino Bones appeared from the dark tunnel, pulling back the bolt action of her sniper rifle and casually disposing the empty shell. Though she couldn't see their faces, Domino could imagine the shocked looks on everyone's faces when she stepped over the Grimm's eroding corpse. She then turned and offered her hand to Olive Evergreen, assisting her over the eroding body.

"Watch your step, milady," said Domino, speaking in an uncharacteristically polite tone.

"Why, thank you, Miss Bones," said Olive, smiling gratefully.

"Miss!" yelped Dew, shoving Nebula to one side ("Ow!" cried Nebula.) and running over. "Oh, Miss, I am so grateful that you are not hurt. You're not hurt, are you?"

"I am quite fine, Dew," said Olive happily. "Miss Bones was kind enough to escort me the whole way through."

"Did she now?" said Nebula, eying the blind sniper suspiciously.

"Yeah, I'm nice like that," said Domino with a mischievous chuckle. "Now before you all start getting into your sappy reunion special, ya might wanna know that we're gonna be expecting company in the next ten seconds," she added, reloading her rifle.

Nebula didn't look like she could trust Domino as far as she could throw her (and with her semblance, Nebula could throw her very far). But considering that they were in a nest of Grimm swarms and the sniper seemed to have a sense for the environment then, as much as she disliked it, she needed to trust Domino. Especially since the sniper seemed to be expecting company. Domino crouched in a kneeling stance with her rifle trained down one of the tunnels. Nebula and the others formed a line alongside her and raised their weapons as well. And in ten seconds flat, just as Domino predicted, Nebula saw the sisters Gwen Darcy and Octavia Ember sliding around the corner.

"Oh, it's only you two," said Nebula, letting out a sigh of relief. "It's okay, everyone. They're friendlies."

"Don't just stand there!" screamed Octavia frantically as she and Gwen skidded behind the group. "Shoot, damn it! Shoot!"

"What? Shoot?" repeated Nebula, turning to them in confusion. "What are you – ?"

Before the violet-haired Huntress could even get her words out, Gwen glared up at the bow-woman, grabbed her by the face, and forced her to turn around. Nebula blanched over the sheer number of Antlions turned the corner, climbing over one another like a rolling wave.

Nebula took the first shot at the horde with her crossbow at the same time as Domino's sniper rifle, taking out the first two Grimm in the horde. Olive's weapon converted into a wrist-mounted crossbow and fired bolts of aura, but the thick armor plating the Antlions merely glazed the shot over. Tawny withdrew a handful of cards from her hidden pocket and flung them down the tunnel where they exploded into a flash of light that had the Antlions shrieking. Immediately after, Rory Al slid on his knees in front of the group, struck the blue Dust string of his guitar, and the tunnel walls were suddenly covered in a layer of slippery ice. The Antlion's small legs tripped over the frost and started gliding toward them when Grayson took two thunderous steps forward and raised his hammer over his head. Just as the Antlions were about to slid into the chamber with the Hunters, Grayson slammed the ground with his hammer and a wall of stone rose to block the tunnel; a succession of thuds and splatters were heard from the other side.

"Hey, look at us, we're working as a team!" said Rory cheerfully, holding out his fist. "C'mon, fist bump time! C'mon, don't leave me hanging. Somebody hit me."

Domino punched him in the face, dropping him.

"He asked for it," said Domino jokingly.

"We saw the other initiates," said Octavia, panting hard while using her knees for support. "Dozens of them, down below at the bottom of the mountain. The Grimm were stringing them up like trophies. I think…I think we might be the only ones left."

"What about Stella?" asked Nebula worriedly, grabbing the redhead by the shoulders. "You remember her, right? Dark hair, blue eyes that almost glow, very short, flies into a fit whenever someone calls her short? These no way she could have been caught, right?"

"We didn't get a chance to see who was down there," said Gwen, biting her lip and avoiding their eyes. "There might be a chance she…."

"Nuh-uh! Not possible!" shouted Nebula vehemently. "Not only is she too strong to be caught by a bunch of Grimm, but her semblance makes her almost invincible. She's got to be around here somewhere. She just – " she clenched her fists and clenched her teeth in frustration, shoving through the group before anyone could say otherwise. She stopped in front of one of the tunnels, took a deep breath, and shouted – "STELLA, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"

"Are you out of your flipping mind?" Nila chastised, pulling Nebula away. "You just alerted every Grimm in the mountain of our location."

"Listen, teen angst," hissed Nebula. "That's my best friend down there, and I – "

"Nebula!"

The violet-haired huntress turned on her heel while at the same time everyone drew their weapons and took aim down the tunnel. When Nebula peered into sloping passageway, the first thing her eyes spotted in the darkness was the bouncy, brightly golden mane of a bear Faunus carrying a much shorter lump of midnight-blue on her back, waving over the Faunus' shoulder. It was Stella and Honey; relief washed over Nebula. Stella bounded over Honey's head when the pair stepped into the chamber and ran inside with her arms thrown open to meet Nebula halfway in tight embrace.

"Thank Oum you're all right," said Stella as they pulled away. "We were with some of the initiates when they were dragged away by the Grimm, so I was worried the same thing might have happened to you."

"Nah, the worst we came across was a Death Stalker," said Nebula. "We've been lucky not to run into any more since."

"Is this all that left?" asked Honey, looking over the small group. "Well I'll be damned. The lil' lady weren't jokin' when she said a lot o' students get killed during the test."

"And I'd prefer it if we weren't one of them," said Stella seriously. "All right, people, listen up! Honey and I figured out that there are ore Grimm the further you go down the mountain, meaning heading to the bottom is a bad idea."

"Now you tell us," muttered Octavia.

"We figured the best route of escaping is by heading to the top where there are less Grimm occupying the area," said Stella. "Domino, you may be blind, but you seem to be able to figure your way around. I guessing you use some form of echolocation. You think you can use that to devise a safe route to the top of the mountain?"

"This wouldn't be you taking an opportunity to stare at my a – " said Domino, taking a more sultry tone.

"This is no time for your innuendos!" snapped Stella; Domino flinched surprisingly. "We need to make a quick escape before we're all dead!"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, what's up with you?" asked Nebula worriedly. "I get that you want to avoid the Grimm…. Unless it's not the Grimm that you're worried about." Stella maintained a brief moment of silence. "Stella…what did you do?"

"Technically, it was my fault," said Honey sheepishly. "Ya see, what happen was – "

At that precise moment, just before the bear Faunus could provide any information on the situation, the chamber began to shake. Rather than say it was just the cavern, it would have been better to say that the whole mountain was being shaken out of its roots. The surviving Huntsmen were thrown back and forth by the rattling, throwing their arms out to steady their balance, but ultimately run into one another and falling over. Some of the students started latching on to each other protectively; Grayson snatched up Rory and, surprisingly enough, Honey and held them both close to his chest; Honey's face suddenly felt hot. Dew stabbed her spear into the ground to center herself and grabbed hold of Olive's hand, who in turn grabbed Domino's hand when the blind sniper started flailing across the floor. Octavia and Gwen fell over one another, Tawny and Nila smacked into the wall, and Stella and Nebula landed near each other on the floor.

"Stel, what the hell is going on!" screamed Nebula.

"The worst thing you could possibly imagine!" Stella yelled back. "We accidentally released an Ancient Grimm from its cage."

"An Ancient Grimm? Are you freakin' kidding me?" shouted Nebula, more annoyed than upset. "Who in their Oum-damn minds would break an Ancient Grimm free?"

"Would it make a difference if I said I was sorry?" asked Honey.

"NO!" shouted everyone in unison.

The hole in the middle of the floor made by the Talpid Grimm suddenly collapsed and expanded its reach, dropping everyone in the chamber over the edge into the pit of darkness. But just as they started to fall, a blast of hot wind and a noise like clapping thunder burst from the shadows and shot the huntsmen through the hole in the ceiling. The squall lifted the twelve surviving students through a winding series of tunnels where they popped out in the sand slide they had rode through the beginning of the initiation. As the heated gust carried them up to the quicksand ceiling, Nebula turned to her best friend with an angry glare.

"If we survive this, we're no longer friends," said Nebula

"Yeah, that sounds reasonable," said Stella.

And they passed through the unstable ceiling of sand to emerge onto the mountaintop outside.

* * *

 **Finally, FINALLY, it's time to move on to the real meat of the story. The next chapter will be the anticipated final battle of the Initiation Arc and we can continue on towards the actual events in Shade Academy from meeting the teachers, to the other students, to meeting the actual villains of the story. Let's just hope there isn't another storm.**

 **Until then, please read and review.**


	9. Start Line

_**A/N:**_ I'm sorry it's taken me so long with getting this chapter up. I've been on such a roll with Kingdom RWBY and I've been agonizing over how I want to go about this chapter since it is the most significant event of this "Volume" and I want to do it right. With RWBY starting up again, it seems very likely that a lot of things in this story will be inconsistent with the source material, so it is probably better to consider this an alternate timeline possessing similarities to the original.

 **Vol 1, Episode 8: Start Line**

The last of the initiates – the girl with the short pink hair – exited the tunnel on the side of Mt. Slate with the assistance of the boy with the orange Mohawk helping her down. They joined the rest of the survivors that had come out of the tunnels, shouting gleefully to the heavens and crying tears of joy. They had done it. Against impossible odds, they had made it out of the biggest Grimm nest in the entire kingdom alive. And deep down, they all knew it was because of that short girl with the big-ass cannon…. They never did figure out what he name was, did they? Oh well, it's not it mattered any more, they mutually agreed.

And while the large crowd of survivors partied like it was X762, Sinclair stared down at the children from above over the edge of the mountain's mouth while he readjusted his glasses. He straightened up and scribbled something on the clipboard he had brought with him, humming thoughtfully. Headmistress Blanche, of course, was playing games on her Scroll.

"…And with Miss de Fleur, that makes fifty-six students in total," said Sinclair, jotting down the last note. "Divide them all into groups of four and that gives us a total of fourteen teams this year. I do believe this year's initiates have broken a school record. We've never had more than six teams pass the initiation and suddenly we have fourteen. This year may actually be the most interesting one yet, wouldn't you say.

We both know the only reason they survived is because of Stella's leadership," said Headmistress Blanche, not looking away from her Scroll. "She told them what to do and the students trusted her. That's the mark of a good leader, right there. If she ever gets out of the mountain, she's definitely earned her own team."

"Agreed," said Sinclair. "But now that you've brought it up, there are some concerns I would like to voice. Namely the welfare of Miss Stratos as well as the other students still trapped inside. It seems that their Scrolls suddenly stopped transmitting, meaning I can't monitor their progress or even know if they are alive or not…. And you had something to do with that, didn't you?"

"Yeah, that's my bad," said Headmistress Blanche offhandedly. "You know how it is; trying to make things more interesting for the girls may or may not have some unforeseen con...con…."

"Consequences," offered Sinclair.

"Yeah, that word," Headmistress Blanche nodded; her floppy white ears bounced. "I'm sure their fine. Stella's almost impossible to kill, Honey's with Stella, Domino and Olive are smart, Nebula and Dew have common sense, and Grayson's a tough boy."

"And what about Darcy, Ember, Al, Wright, and Birch?" asked Sinclair, pushing his glasses up.

"Oh yeah, they're probably dead," said Headmistress Blanche nonchalantly. Then suddenly, her ears stood straight and the diminutive headmistress looked around curiously. "Hey, do you hear something that sounds like twelve teenagers being blow around by a hurricane screaming in terror and that one of those teenagers should have worn their brown pants today?"

"…what?" Sinclair asked disbelievingly.

 _ **BOOM!**_

The round beneath them exploded, sending and flying everywhere, and Headmistress Blanche was punted through the air in a high arc (though, oddly enough, she was still playing with her Scroll). Sinclair deftly stretched out his arm, snagged the headmistress by the nape of her dress, set her back on her feet, and dusted her off professionally. Headmistress Blanche said a quick word of thanks her Deputy-Headmaster and turned back to the scene with her hands folded behind her back and her head tilted curiously.

The twelve missing initiates (though, now that they're outside, it's more technical to call them students now) were scattered and piled around, half-buried in sand and groaning. Stella was draped across Honey's waist, who was lying face down into Grayson Stone's back, who was flat on top of Rory Al, who looking blue in the face and trying to claw his way out from underneath his heavy partner. Gwen sat up holding her throbbing forehead when she looked over and realized that her step-sister's legs were flailing in the air while the rest of her was buried in the sand; she went to help out like a good sister would. Domino and Olive had hid behind Olive's shield before they smashed through the mountain, so they came out relatively all right. As opposed to Nila, whose head and shoulders were the only thing to breach the surface while the rest of her was still buried underneath. She swiveled her head and glared at Tawny, who sitting cross-legged in perfect contention.

"You know, you could lend a hand," said Nila, leering.

And as for Nebula….

"Oh man, did someone get the license off that train," groaned Nebula. She pushed up to her hands and feet when she realized something weird: both of her hands were groping something _very, very soft_ – like two piles of marshmallows. Nebula chuckled nervously. "I've seen enough anime to know where this is going…."

She hesitated, but Nebula did eventually looked down and cursed (or thanked, depending on how you look at it) her luck. Dew stared back at her unwanted partner – her mouth agape and her face the brightest shade of red – as Nebula's hands continued to grope her chest roughly with both of her hands. Nebula and Dew locked eyes with one another and didn't blink…then Nebula squeezed –

 _ **SLAP!**_

"You disgusting animal!" shouted Dew, sitting up and turning away from her partner with her hands crossed over her chest, still blushing heavily. "You horrible, fiendish brute! You awful, deplorable, contemptuous, vile beast of a human! You…how dare you touch me in such a way! Have you no decency, you depraved woman!"

"You know, if this were an anime," said Nebula offhandedly, sporting a large red handprint on her face, "this would be one of those fated meeting things where the main characters have a misunderstanding and would end up together by the end of the season. Although, anime logic dictates that I should have seen your panties first – "

 _ **SLAP!**_

"Hey, congratulations, you're all still alive!" cheered Headmistress Blanche as the initiates pulled themselves together. Sinclair pulled out a basket of confetti as started throwing it on top of her. "I knew you had what it took to pass. Well, most of you, at least. I was pretty much expecting Rory to be the first one dead."

"I think we all were," said Grayson bluntly.

"Dude!" yelled Rory aghast.

"Headmistress Blanche, we have an emergency," said Stella, pushing herself to the front of the group urgently. "Honey and I were exploring the southeastern caverns of the mountain when we ran into a giant rock that was blocking our way. Naturally, Honey and I decide to break it down. But then I read some of the inscriptions on the walls and I realized why that rock was blocking the tunnel in the first place. By the time I had figured it out, Honey had already broken it loose. It was a Grimm, Headmistress. An ancient Grimm."

"An ancient Grimm, you say," said Headmistress Blanche, smiling subtly with a knowing look toward Sinclair. "Oh my, that sounds scary. What does the Grimm look like?"

Before Stella had her chance to respond, the mountain beneath their feet started to shake violently as muffled rumbling noises sounded from deep within the caverns. The students staggered and clung to one another to keep themselves steady; Grayson suddenly felt hot under the collar when Honey latched on to his arm, purposely ignoring Rory's smug grin. Stella tripped over herself and landed on her stomach near the edge of the mountain peak. After spitting out the sand that got in her mouth, Stella noticed two things as she looked down. First were the fifty six students sliding down the side of the mountain, flailing their arms and screaming in a panic when Mt. Slate started quaking. The second things she noticed was that three large mounds of sand raising from the side of the mountain until they burst outward.

The ancient Grimm took its first breath of fresh air in who knows how many centuries and announced its return with an earth-shattering roar. Its main body was still buried underneath the mountain of sand, but the Grimm's three serpentine heads flailed about, hissing and roaring over each other. Their necks were twenty feet in length covered in scales of pitch-black with the red-marked bone armor covering their napes, rows of bony spines running down their necks, and shaping the snake-like bone masks that covered their faces. Each of the serpent heads had two sets of fangs curling over their lips and bulging yellow eyes.

Nebula, Grayson, and their other teammates joined Stella over the edge and peered down at the Grimm (except for Domino – she's blind).

"Is that…a Hydra?" asked Nila, turning slowly toward Stella.

"Yep," said Stella, popping the 'p'.

"Un – freakin' – believable," Nebula groaned and shook her head exasperatedly. "Nests of Death Stalkers, Talpids, Antlions, Sandworms, and King Taijitu is one thing, but how on Remnant are we supposed to deal with a freakin' Hydra! I thought you said that last Hydra was slain over eighty years ago during the Great War – yeah, I may attention to your little lectures. Don't look surprised," she said in response to Stella's surprised expression.

"I don't know what to tell you," said Stella. "History books say that the last of the Hydras were guided by the Saurian Tribes as attack dogs during the Great War that won us the Battle of the Colorless Desert and the Battle of Rowan Valley until they were decimated by the Atlesian Army's advanced weaponry. All of the Hydras should have been wiped out after that."

"And yet there's one right underneath our feet," said Domino, turning to the headmistress. "You knew about this, did you?"

"Sure did," said Headmistress Blanche proudly.

"Well, can't you stop it?" asked Rory.

"Nope," said Headmistress Blanche, still smiling despite the terrified looks of her new students. "Sorry, but I already told you yesterday that the moment you became students at Shade, you're expected to take care of your own problems and fight your own battles. We're not your friends, babysitters, or bodyguards. If you don't think you can handle it, then you can just walk away and never come back to MY academy."

"But that's not fair!" whined Olive.

"That's the unspoken law of Vacuo," said Sinclair, pushing his glasses up. "Life is cruel and unforgivable in this oum-forsaken land, and the only people who are welcomed in it are the ones who know what it means to survive. If you want someone to clean up your mess, you should be expected to do it yourself, Miss Evergreen."

"But – " Olive started, but was cut off by the sounds of mixed screams mingled with the Hydra's roar.

Everyone looked back over the ledge. The Hydra was attacking the students, thrashing its necks around in the sand and snapping its teeth at the closest thing that moved. Hydra-Left looped its neck around to block off four students sliding down the mountainside while Hydra-Right swooped down from above with its pointed teeth. A fifth student (the boy with the orange Mohawk) suddenly leapt over the Hydra's neck and clashed his double-bladed staff against the Grimm's teeth. The boy shoved the Hydra's head sideways into the sand, dropped back down, and gestured for the other students to follow him as they raced around the Hydra's neck.

At the same time, the pink-haired girl from earlier that day was racing along the slope of the mountain, bounced from side-to-side with Hydra-Center literally nipping at her heels. The Grimm jabbed at the pink-haired huntress, the girl would jump to the opposite side, the Hydra would try again on that side, and the motion would repeat itself. The pink-haired girl was clutched a dusty leather satchel against her chest; she threw the flap open after dodging the Hydra's next attack and starting digging through the contents. Unfortunately, she was too focused with her bag that she failed to notice the exposed rock in her path and tripped. The girl slid through the rough grains, scraping her elbows, and her satchel threw just a few feet out of her reach. The pink-haired girl turned with a gasp as the central Hydra head raised itself up, showing its domination over the human, and hissed softly as it edged closer –

"Stella, what're you doing?" Nebula shouted suddenly.

Everyone snapped their heads in their direction, nearly giving themselves whiplash. Grayson, Olive, and the others had been too engrossed in watching the students scramble against the Hydra that they hadn't realized Stella had whipped out her weapon and jumped off the mountain. Headmistress Blanche smiled smugly behind their backs.

The Hydra jabbed its fangs at the pink-haired Huntress when Stella suddenly jumped from out of nowhere and landed between them, pointing the barrel of Void Gear into the Hydra's open mouth. The dark-haired Huntress twisted the handle of her weapon, causing the barrel to rotate until the brown Dust chamber was on top and pulled the trigger. A large boulder seemingly exploded from Void Gears muzzle and become wedged into the Hydra's jaw. The serpentine Grimm reeled back and started shaking its head restlessly trying to dislodge the boulder. Meanwhile, Stella turned around, grabbed the pink-haired girl by the elbow, and dragged her up to her feet. She looked like she was in a daze; she stared at Stella with wide, shimmering eyes and her face looked like she might be getting sunburn (or that's what Stella thought it was, at least).

"Hey, you okay," asked Stella in concern. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"N-no, I'm fine – perfectly fine, even," the pink-haired girl stuttered as she started twirling her fingers. "Um…thank you. This is the second time you've saved me today."

"It's no problem; that's what Hunters do, after all," said Stella with a confident smile; the girl's sunburn seemed to get worse all of a sudden. "You should probably get out of here. I'll try to hold it off as long as I can."

"All right," said the pink-haired girl. She made a quick dash over to her satchel, picked it up, and started run back down the mountain when she stopped and shouted back. "My name's Freesia, by the way! Freesia de Fleur! If you survive this, I hope we end on the same team together…well, that is…if you want to! Not that I 'm saying you have to, I just thought that…maybe…you know…."

"Just get out of here!" snapped Stella. Freesia squeaked and made a mad dash for the base of the mountain. "What was that all about, telling me that in the middle of a battle? Foreign girls can be so weird sometimes."

Meanwhile, Hydra-center continued to flail back and forth through the air with the boulder stuck in its jaws until Hydra-Right arced around to its neighboring neck and slammed the boulder with its skulled forehead. A deep crack formed in the boulder, making rock fragile enough so that the central head could bite down and crush the stone into gravel, spitting it out across the mountain. At the same time, Hydra-Left craned around its brothers, hissing as its bulbous yellow eyes fell on Stella, and lunged at the cannon-wielding warrior. Stella raised her weapon, turned the chamber until the red Dust chamber was at the top, and spewed out a torrent of flames that hit the Hydra squarely in the face. But the ancient Grimm pushed through the fire without flinching and was on top of Stella before she had the chance to move. The Hydra was about to clamp down on Stella when the serpentine Grimm suddenly hit the ground with heavy force, splashing around sand and create a small crater in the side of the mountain. Stella took a step back, gesturing in confusion, when Grayson suddenly landed beside her, beating the head of his hammer threateningly in his palm.

"You stayed behind," said Stella in both surprise and gratitude. "But why? You could have just left like everyone else."

"But that wouldn't sit right with me," said Grayson, hefting the hammer on his shoulder. "I know the headmistress said that you should be able to clean up your own messes, and she's not wrong, but there's nothing wrong with offering to help. Besides, what kind of a person would I be if I just left a little girl to fend for herself."

"Thanks, I – WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SMALL SHE'D GET MISTAKEN FOR A COMMA IN A SENTENCE?!" shrieked Stella.

"I never said that," said Grayson, swat-dropping.

"But watch what you say, Gray," said Nebula teasingly. "She has a 'short' fuse."

Stella and Grayson looked up just as Nebula swooped down from above and landed on top of the central Hydra's bone mask between the Grimm's eyes, making the black serpent go cross-eyed. The indigo-haired woman whipped out her Shooting Star and shot the Hydra dead center in both eyes; the arrow heads punctured the retina and black ooze spilled from the openings. Hydra-Center shrieked, flailing its head from side-to-side, and threw the indigo-haired archer off. Nebula descended for the ground near Stella and Grayson when the remaining Hydra heads looped around their wounded brother, hissed agitatedly, and lunged at Nebula from both sides. Just moments away from biting down on the Huntress, both Hydra heads suddenly reeled back when they were suddenly attacked from both sides. Hydra-Left's mask inexplicably combusted and ripped off half the bone from its face; Hydra-Right had the worst case of freezer burn while a powerful chord played in the background.

Nebula landed at a crouch in front of Stella and Grayson…then everyone else dropped in behind her. Stella was stunned. She had expected Nebula to stay behind because they were best friends, Honey because she was loyal, Olive because she was sweet and considerate, and Rory because he was good friends with Grayson. But Octavia and Gwen were strangers to them, Domino was the self-interest type, Dew didn't care about anyone beyond Olive, Nila didn't seem to like anyone, and Tawny was just plain weird. But seeing all of them standing by her side with their weapons ready, Stella almost felt touched – almost.

"You all came to help?" asked Stella, looking wildly between them.

"I wasn't going to leave my best bud to be Grimm feed," said Nebula, throwing her arm over Stella's shoulder and ruffling her hair playfully. "Besides, if you're dead, whose homework am I gonna copy?"

"I knew it!" shouted Stella.

I personally wanted to leave you behind, but…," said Domino with a smirk.

"But I wouldn't let her," said Olive, chuckling softly.

"Your help is gratefully appreciated," said Grayson.

Before they could get too deep into conversation, their attention was brought back to the situation when the Hydra's screech sounded above their heads. The three serpentine heads shook off their injuries and leered down at the twelve Huntsmen, each one carrying a distinctive wound. The Hydra-Left was missing half of its bone mask, exposing the throbbing and surprisingly fleshy skin underneath. Hydra-Right has shaken off the ice that had climbed up its neck, but many of its scales had started to chip off and the area was a dark shade of tender red. And Hydra-Center eyes were destroyed beyond repair as black ooze continued to spill over like dark waterfalls, dripping into the sand.

The twelve Huntsmen formed a line with their weapons drawn as the Hydra reeled back its heads, hissing and snarling.

"So does anyone have an actual plan, or are we just winging it?" asked Octavia.

"There are twelve of us and only three of them," said Stella seriously. "The Hydra's main body still hasn't emerged from the mountain because we've been distracting it, so we need to keep it attention before it realizes that it can break out. Tactically speaking, the best option would be to divide and conquer – take out each head individually so that they can't help each other. We'll separate into groups of four. Grayson, you lead a team on the right, Nebula will lead a group to the left, and I'll charge for the center. The rest of you, pick a team and stick with it. Everyone good on the plan?"

"Y'all got this natural leader thing down, pardner," said Honey, sounding impressed. "I knew there was a reason I stuck with ya."

The Hydra heads roared and lunged at the hunts together. Stella shouted ("Separate!") and the group split off in three different directions before the Hydra stabbed the sand.

Nebula flipped sideways several times until she stood a good distance away from the Hydra, whose left head pulled back from the sand and turned towards her with a loathsome hiss. Nebula stood straight and reloaded the Dust-tipped arrows in her crossbow as the rest of her team fell in line beside her. Gwen landed to Nebula's right on the tip of her toes with a graceful pirouette before she withdrew the assortment of daggers from her combat skirt and held them between her fingers, glaring down the Hydra. Octavia, on the other hand, was less than graceful, hitting the sand face first and sliding into line on Nebula's left side. She scrambled to her feet, spat out the sand out of her mouth, and drew her jagged blade, trying to pretend she didn't just embarrass herself. And the last of them to join the group was Dew, who landed in a crouched stance between Nebula and Octavia with her spear draw across her back.

Nebula looked to Dew with a smug smile.

"Decided to join my team, did you?" said Nebula with a hint of amusement in her voice. "Aren't you worried your 'lady' might be in trouble without you?"

"The Miss can handle herself well enough," said Dew, standing straight and twirling her spear behind her. "I merely joined your group because I feared you would do something reckless that would get yourself killed, and we will need all the allies we can get to defeat the Grimm."

"Just admit it: you're totally falling for me," said Nebula jokingly. Seconds later, she now sported a red handprint across her face. "Somehow, I think I deserved that."

"Aw, look how close they are," Octavia said to Gwen. "Why can't we be that close?"

"I can stab you in the foot if that'll make you feel better," said Gwen.

"Hey, head's up, everybody – and I mean that literally!" shouted Nebula.

The Hydra lunged forward in the air and curled itself inward as it approached the women, purposely throwing out its spinal barbs. Nebula and Dew bounced backwards together as the Hydra swept across while Octavia slid underneath the Hydra's neck and Gwen bounded over with a fabulous Grand Jeté (Dew pointed out the form; Nebula was clueless otherwise). Both step-sisters stood on the opposite side of the Hydra's neck, coming face-to-face with the Grimm's head, while Nebula and Dew were blocked off by the Hydra's spines.

Nebula shot two Dust-infused arrows that exploded against the Hydra's neck, but flames merely washed over serpentine monster's scales without even a scratch on its body. Shortly thereafter, Dew lunged forward and stabbed her spear into the space between the spines where the scales were sparse, but the spearhead merely bounced off the Hydra and made the apathetic amazon to trip backwards. Nebula quickly dashed forward and caught the taller girl in her arms, giving Dew her best smile when she looked up at the archer. Dew was not impressed.

Meanwhile, Octavia and Gwen locked gazes with each of the Ancient Grimm's bulbous yellow eyes in the most intense staring contest in Huntsmen history. Octavia drew her dagger to level with her chest, pointing the tip at the Hydra's eye, while Gwen cautiously inched her left foot closer toward the monster with her knives clenched tightly between her fingers. But the Hydra caught Gwen's subtle movements and instantly lunged for the dancer in the blink of an eye with its jaw stretched wide and its four fangs tipped toward her. Thankfully, Gwen's trained reflexes allowed her to balance of her foot and spin around the Hydra's head, but not without her shoulder being sliced by one of the Grimm's bone fangs. Gwen winced momentarily, but she gritted her teeth and threw her knives with the momentum of her spin at the Hydra's face. The small blades bounced uselessly off the Hydra's bone mask and the serpentine monster turned on her with a soft hiss.

As the Hydra encroached upon Gwen's space, a whip of flame suddenly swiped through the air, slapping against the exposed flesh of the Hydra's face. The serpentine monster reeled back and screeched violently as it flailed back and forth to blow away the flames that licked its raw flesh. A glowing red line was now drawn from the peak of the Hydra's skull, passing over its bulging eye, and slipping over its lower lip. The Hydra snapped its pointed face to its attack, finding Octavia standing many feet away with her dagger coated in a layer of crackling flame.

"Hey, ugly!" shouted Octavia, jabbing her blade at the monster. "Leave my sis alone! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

The Hydra hissed angrily and jabbed at Octavia. The redhead's eyes bulged comically, turned on her heel, and ran across the side of the mountain at her top speed.

"Why're you coming at me for?" Octavia panicked. "I said pick on someone your own size! Look at me, I'm bite-sized."

"Not the best choice of words, Octavia!" shouted Gwen.

"Stop standing there and save me!" Octavia snapped back.

When the swordswoman's cry went out, it was none other than Nebula Violette and Dew Gayl who leapt onto the scene; the sun glimmering dramatically behind them. Nebula pulled back the Shooting Star's string and fired off six bolts in rapid succession, hitting the exposed fleshy area around the Hydra's eye. The Hydra screeched and flinched sideways off course from Octavia, much to the redhead's relief. Dew soon followed with a straight lunged with her spear held forward. She avoided hitting the Hydra directly and instead scraped the edge of her weapon against the Hydra's skin, tearing a long cut into the side of the monster's face. The Hydra quickly pulled back and shook its head, hissing ferociously.

Dew landed at Octavia's side and both of them were quickly joined by the rest of the team. All four girls watched the Hydra head with avid interest. They had never seen a Grimm so beat up before (half of its mask was ripped off, a burn mark glowed from top to bottom, six arrows circles its bloated eye, and a large cut tore across the side) – typically, Grimm were slain before it ever got this far. Nebula reached over and slapped Octavia on the back with a jubilant laugh.

"Way to go, Red," said Nebula with praise. "You came through for us."

"I did?" asked Octavia, blinking. "Uh – I mean, of course I did! But for the sake of everyone else, why don't you explain what I did."

"You found the Hydra's weakest point," Dew explained. "Its scales are too durable to break through with our weapons, but the exposed portion of the Hydra's face is vulnerable for attack. We now know where we must strike if we are to defeat it."

"Uh, yeah, that's right, exactly as I planned it," said Octavia boastfully; Gwen looked to her step-sister with a blank stare.

"The problem now lies in reaching its weak point," said Dew. "After all of those attacks, it should realize its own vulnerability by now. There is no way it will remain still long enough to allow us a killing blow."

"I can handle that," said Nebula matter-of-factly. "I can get it to stop moving for a while, but I need to be able to touch it first. Red, ballerina – " she addressed Octavia and Gwen " – I need you two to provide covering fire while I move in. Dew – " she turned on her partner " – stand by and wait for a my signal. When I give the word, I want you stab that monster with everything you got. Does everyone understand?"

"Not entirely," said Dew, but took a crouched stance nonetheless. "But I am willing to trust you on this."

"Yeah, we got your back!" said Octavia confidently; Gwen nodded in agreement.

Now that she was assured of her teammates and their parts in her plan, Nebula seemed visibly relaxed as she replaced the Shooting Star in its holster over her shoulder and took off running toward the Hydra. The Serpentine Grimm's narrow head followed the indigo-haired markswoman, hissing with its forked tongue slipping through its lips, and then lunged at the Huntress. Nebula looked straight ahead as the Hydra swooped down from above and pointed its fangs her spinal cord when a small flurry of colorful explosions burst against the masked side of its face. Gwen twirled on the tip of her feet while throwing another set of knives away, creating a rainbow of sparks that blinded the Hydra, but left the beast relatively unharmed.

The Hydra shook its head free of the disorienting spots that had clouded its vision. It turned back to Nebula when the Grimm noticed the Huntress was getting dangerously close to the base of its neck. The Ancient beast lunged at Nebula's back once more when a wall of flames roared to life between them, making the Hydra cringe and pull away from the fire. The Grimm's nonexistent ears drew it to the sound of laughter as Octavia cackled in a taunting manner while the pointed her flame-coated dagger to the beast threateningly.

Nebula finally reached the point where the Hydra's neck emerged from the mountain and dove over the last few feet of distance. She landed roughly on her stomach, but managed to touch her thumb and two fingers on the Grimm's neck. The Hydra stiffened instantly, shuddering in place, before its head dropped to the ground like a sack of bricks. The serpentine Grimm looked like it was struggling to pull itself up, seemingly weight many times more than it usually did, but couldn't even drag its face a foot out of the sand. Nebula swiped her three fingers across the Grimm's neck and the Hydra turned on its side where the exposed side of its head was face upwards.

"Go for it, Dew!" shouted Nebula.

With a furious battle cry, Dew rushed at the Ancient Grimm and jumped high into the air; the sun shined dramatically in the background behind her. The Amazonian warrior held her spear over her head, landed on the Hydra's face, and jabbed her weapons through the monster's flesh with all her strength. The Hydra's mouth stretched wide, but no sound came. Its bulbous yellow eyes turned bleach white and the monster stopped moving.

Dew ripped her spear from the Hydra's skull and dropped down next to Nebula. The indigo-haired markswoman held up her fist with a grim. Dew rolled her eyes exasperatedly…and bumped Nebula's fist with her own.

"That was awesome!" cheered Octavia when the step-sisters joined them. "But why isn't it – you know =- vanishing and stuff?"

"The Hydra is an Ancient Grimm with three brains," said Nebula knowingly. "They can't be killed unless all three heads are slain. That's why they were efficient weapons during the Great War."

"So now it all comes down to the other teams to handle their parts," said Dew, watching the distance battles in concern. "I hope we haven't made a grave error in judgement by trusting them."

"Relax, partner," said Nebula confidently, throwing her arm around Dew's shoulder. "Stel's smart and Gray's tough. They'll be fine."

"WE ARE NOT FINE!" yelped Rory.

The Atlesian guitarist bounced backwards with Nila when the Hydra stabbed its face into the sand where they once stood, narrowly slipping off the side of the mountain. Rory struck the yellow chord of his musical weapon, shooting off a wave of electricity. The Hydra immediately curled inwards so that it's spines where facing them and took the lightning directly; the electricity rolled off its scales like water through a stream. Nila took a single flip forward to increase her momentum as she threw her Chakram, which bounced harmlessly off the Hydra's scales before flying back into her hand. Nila gritted her teeth in frustration.

The serpentine monster uncurled itself and jabbed its fangs at the Huntsmen, closing the distance between them faster than either of them could react. Fortunately for Rory and Nila, Grayson was surprisingly quick on his feet and jumped in from the side with his hammer pulled back over his shoulder. The titanic Huntsmen swung his weapon around and smashed the head against the Hydra's face, throwing the Ancient Grimm on its side and breaking off two of its bone fangs. The great beast slowly picked itself up, shook its head slowly of the disorientation, and turned around just in time to see Grayson dropping down from above with his hammer held over his head. The Hydra quickly pulled back to avoid the blow; Grayson's hammer smashed into the mountain and formed an impressive-sized crater in the sand.

The Hydra hovered behind the mammoth-sized Huntsmen and reeled itself up to strike until a musical chord roared from somewhere off to the side, bringing with it a cloud of dust that blew against the Hydra's face. The Ancient Grimm flinched, allowing Grayson ample time to flee the crater undetected. The Hydra lowered its head closer against the mountain surface to escape the dust storm, which is essentially what the Huntsmen had been hoping for. Once the Hydra was visible underneath the sandstorm that Rory had created, Nila immediately charged the Ancient Grimm, leaped into the air, performing a set of impressive (albeit unnecessary) flips, and landed squarely on the Hydra's forehead. The Grimm went cross-eyed as it stared down the cheetah Faunus, who crossed her arms to display the Chakram's in her grip; the sunlight glinting off the razor's edge.

Nila threw her Chakram's away to the side, only to catch them by the ends of their silken clothes at the last second. Tugging at the clothes, the cheetah Faunus twisted and twirled her weapons in wide, repetitive circular motions. The outer edges scrapped against the Grimm's skull, doing nothing to actually hurt the Hydra, but slowly chipped away its bone mask sliver by sliver with each swing. The Ancient Grimm hissed fiercely and threw its head back, tossing off Nila – the cheetah Faunus landed deftly on her feet between Grayson and Rory. The Hydra raised itself higher and higher over the Huntsmen, leering down…and then buried its entire neck in the sand like an ostrich.

Grayson, Nila, and Rory looked to one another for answers.

"Uh…did we win?" asked Nila confused.

"Maybe it got scared," suggested Rory. "I'd be scared if I had to go up against a six-foot-ten mountain of muscle. Wicked swing, by the way, Gray-man," he added with a friendly slap on the arm.

"It's Grayson," said Grayson.

"Whatever," said Rory nonchalantly.

"The Hydra is a demon that knows no fear." Grayson, Rory, and Nila turn toward Tawny, who had been sitting cross-legged on an exposed rock the whole time. "The Grimm did not run away, but merely altered its strategy to counter our strength. It learned from its other mind and formulated a response. Now it lies in wait, ready to strike the moment your guard is down."

"And how could you know this?" asked Nila disparagingly.

"As you can recall, my Semblance is Communication," said Tawny serenely. "I can understand all languages, including the language of the body."

"So now you can read body language, can you?" Nila scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "Please, instead of just sitting around and watching us do all the work, why do you do something helpful."

"Oh, but I am doing something helpful," said Tawny cryptically. "I'm watching and waiting for the right moment."

"You cheeky little – WHA?!" Nila yelped.

The cheetah Faunus was suddenly thrown into the air when the ground below her feet exploded and the Hydra's head shot out from underneath the sand. Nila was taken by complete surprise and could not save herself as she started falling into the Hydra's open mouth. A musical chord ripped through the air and Nila was blown away by an abrupt gust of wind. The cheetah Faunus hit the ground and bounced off several times, but she came away mostly unharmed. Rory let out a sigh of relief once knowing that Nila was safe and turned back to the Hydra head, strumming a chord that exploded into a blazing fireball. The Hydra dived back into the sand as the fireball flew overhead.

Everyone quickly moved into defensive positions (except for Tawny – she was still sitting round), taking no more than two or three cautionary steps around their areas. Rory thought he heard something to his left and turned on his heel, raising his pick to strike a string, only realizing that it was just the wind blowing. Rory lowered his hand in relief…then the Hydra ripped out of the ground and headbutted the musician's chest. Rory hit the ground on his back and the Ancient Grim was already on top of him with its remaining fangs tipped at Rory's chest. But before the Hydra could penetrate the skin, Grayson came around and swung his hammer at the monster's teeth, breaking off the last of its fangs. The Hydra wailed and buried itself back underneath the sand.

Grayson quickly pulled his partner up to his feet as Nila soon joined them; all three stood back-to-back-to-back in all direction with their weapons ready. The hydra could attack them from anywhere, even right from under them. And all the while, Tawny muttered to herself in a soft, lazy voice with half lidded eyes, drawing a card from the deck she carried. The card gained a semi-transparent glow as she held it between her fingers.

"…eight…nine…ten," mumbled Tawny.

With a flick of the wrist, Tawny tossed the card into the air just above Grayson's head. The stalwart Huntsmen followed the path of the card in curiosity…and then they Hydra exploded from the ground next to him with a furious hiss before he even had the chance to prepare. When they were feet away from each other, Tawny's card curved in the air and stabbed the Hydra in the center of its left eye with one of its sharp corners. The Hydra pulled back and shrieked. Grayson stared at the Grimm for a long while until he came to his senses and bashed his hammer squarely in the center of its head, cracking the monster's bone mask. The Hydra shook its head and went back underground before Grayson could take another swing.

Tawny drew another card.

"…eight…nine…ten."

The would-be fortune teller snapped another card, this time sending it flying towards Nila's right side. The Hydra once again ripped from the ground, opening its jaw to swallow Nila whole, when the card once again stabbed the Ancient Grimm in the same eye, stacking the latest card on top of the first. The Hydra flinched sideways and hissed painfully as black ooze started to spill through the small puncture marks. Nila flipped away from the Grimm, throwing both of her Chakrams to arc in the air and slice two fresh cuts in the monster's bone mask. Once again, the Ancient Grimm retreated underground before she could get another shot in.

Tawny drew another card.

"…eight…nine…ten."

Another card thrown, this time flying between Rory's legs and gliding into the sand just as the Hydra came back up – the card once again nailed its target in the monster's left eye, joining the previous two. Rory flipped around at the Hydra's pained (and annoyed) screeches, and then struck the yellow string of his instrument to summon a large jolt of electricity. The Hydra head curled itself inwards as the lightning flayed up and down its spine, hissing in a low tone before pulling back underground.

Grayson, Nila, and Rory exchanged curious glances with one another then turned to Tawny, who was shuffling her deck absently with a spacy smile. Three times the Hydra had caught them by surprise and every time, Tawny was always the one that countered the beast. Nila and Grayson never believed in the tattooed woman's foresight before, but they might be willing to bet there was something to her predictions now; Rory, on the other hand, always believed her.

"How did you do that?" asked Nila suspiciously.

"I told you, Nila Wright, I watched and waited," said Tawny simply as if she had been asked what the color of the sky was. "The Grimm – though savage and enraged – is acting out in a specific pattern. After careful observation, the pattern became simple to understand: with every instance when the Grimm returns to ground, it takes ten seconds to move around and position itself to where it may do the most damage. It searches for its pray through the vibrations in the sand and alternates between targets."

"And that explains why it hasn't gone after you, sitting on that rock and all," said Rory.

"Do you know where it will attack next?" asked Grayson.

"It'll appear in front of you in two seconds, Grayson Stone," said Tawny simply.

"That gives us just enough time," said Grayson, looking over his shoulder to the rest of his group. "Rory, when I give the word, I want you to blast that Grimm with your coldest tune. I want you to freeze it down to the bone. Nila…I don't really have to explain what your part is – you'll know it when you see it."

"Whatever you say, bud," said Rory with a two-fingered salute.

"I am ready," said Nila, crossing her arms with her Chakram.

"Good, because here it comes," said Tawny.

Grayson immediately braced himself at the fortuneteller's word, tightening his grip with both hands over his massive hammer and reeling it back over his shoulder. Grayson mentally counted down the time….seven…eight…nine…. Grayson swung his weapon around with all of his strength the moment he reached ten, right at the same time the Hydra popped out of the ground as Tawny had predicted. The Hydra's jaw was open wide to swallow him, but Grayson's hammer swooped in from the side and smashed against the Grimm's lower jaw. What happened is too graphic to describe in words, but let's just say that the Hydra would have a hard time chewing anything at this point.

"Rory, now!" yelled Grayson.

The Atlesian guitarist dived forward between Grayson and the Hydra, striking the white string of his instrument with a reverberating roar of sound. A cold breeze blew from the guitar and sprayed the Hydra's open mouth; thick layers of ice started to form on the roof of the monster's mouth, spreading over the lips, and climbing over the hydra's face. Within seconds, the Hydra's head looked like a very detailed ice sculpture…. Nila stepped in between her new teammates not a moment after, looking at the flash frozen Grimm with a twisted sort of approval. The Cheetah Faunus dangled her Chakram from their silken cloth, started to twirl them slowly at her sides, and then slashed the Hydra's face over and over, tearing away the monster piece by piece until all that remained was a pile of surprisingly clean cut ice cubes.

"Sweet," said Rory, picking a handful of the Grimm ice. "Now all we need are some fruity drinks with little umbrellas."

"…okay, that's creepy even by my standards," said Nila disgustedly.

"We are victorious, Grayson Stone," said Tawny calmly, walking up to join the rest of her team. "In addition to Nebula Violette's team, that makes two heads destroyed. All the remains is Stella Stratos' team."

"Then let's provide them support," grunted Grayson as he lifted his hammer onto his shoulder. "I prefer increasing the odds in our favor rather than leaving them alone."

"Why won't you leave me alone?" screamed Stella.

The dark-haired Huntress leapt into the air as the Hydra swooped down from above and slammed into the ground where she once stood. Stella turned the handle of her cannon, rotating the cylinder until the white Dust chamber was on top, and fired off three rounds of ice below; the recoil propelled her further down the mountain. The Ancient Grimm saw the bullets coming and curled its neck into an "S"-shape that allowed it to dodge the Dust bombs; three towers of solid ice formed in the sand until the Hydra shattered them when it straightened its neck. Stella hit the ground on her back, rolled with the momentum, and bounced back to her feet as her cannon altered its ammunition to yellow Dust. She shot off several rounds one after the other, but the Hydra deftly weaved around the shots and closed the distance between them swiftly. The Hydra opened its jaw over Stella's head when what felt like a freight train slammed into the side of its head and threw it off to the side.

The Hydra started to pick itself up when it felt something hold onto its fangs with an iron grip, preventing the Grimm from moving. The ancient beasts stared down its long face to find Honey holding the massive Grimm down using only her bare hands ("Don't you mean BEAR hands?" Honey would joke to a groaning audience later on). The tall Huntress's aura was flaring bright yellow around her body; her grip intensified around the Hydra's fang, threatening to break off the bone, and her feet were buried in the sand with the additional weight. The Hydra obviously put up a struggle, but Honey wasn't letting it go free. With one hand still wrapped around the Hydra's fang, Honey pulled back her other fist and cocked her gauntlet, drawing the blades with a sharp _**snikt**_.

"You!" Honey roared, smashing her fist into the Hydra's mask. "Better! Learn! To! Stay! Down!"

Honey punctuated each word by driving her fist into the Grimm's skull, digging the claws of her weapon into the monster's mask. The first punch cut three slits into the bone, the second strike expanded the marks, the third punch started to form cracks stretching between the eyes, and every blow afterwards expanded into a spider web pattern that chipped off several pieces. The bear Faunus reeled back her fist for another assault when the Hydra suddenly tilted its head sharply downward. The Hydra knew that Honey wasn't going to release her grip, which meant that it had broken off its fang intentionally. Honey gapped at the tooth in her hand with a surprised look, not at all paying attention when the Hydra sideswiped her with its face.

The Bear Faunus crashed and rolled down the side of the mountain, drawing a huge line in the sand due to her increased weight, but the Hydra did not pursue. Instead, the Ancient Grimm turned towards Olive Evergreen, who was standing guard with her Spring Lotus held protectively in front of her while pushing Domino behind her. Out of everyone in this battle, Domino had the greatest disadvantage. Her sight was limited only to her Semblance, but because the Grimm possessed no aura, Domino was fighting blind – even more than she was before. Despite her instincts telling her to save her own skin, Domino still had her pride as a Huntress. The blind gunwoman cocked her twin pistols loaded with fire Dust and shot off every bullet in her clip at the Hydra's general direction. Her shots went wildly off target – only a couple bullets grazed its scales and one bullet flew so off course that it hit Stella in the foot.

"Yow!" Stella yelped, hopping on one foot while holding the other. "Watch where you're aiming, will ya?"

"I can't see where I'm aiming!" yelled Domino. "I'm blind, remember?"

"How did you ever get to be a Huntress if you can't even see the Grimm?" said Stella, annoyed.

"How did you get to be a Huntress if you're so short!" snapped Domino.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING – "

"No time for that now!" Olive interjected. "Move!"

The shield maiden grab grabbed her partner by the shoulder and pulled them off to the side as the Hydra swooped down over them. The Ancient Grimm quickly changed its course and curved to rush the duo for a second sweep. Keeping her partner safely tucked behind, Olive braced herself as she expanded Spring Lotus's border into a wide dome that covered the both. The Hydra headbutted the aura shield with great force that rattled Olive enough to drop to one knee, but the impact also knocked a few fragments of its mask off too, exposing the fleshy underside. The Hydra pulled back and headbutted the shield again, this time pushing the barrier back, sweeping Olive off her feet, and flinging her up the mountain by a great distance. Olive crashed into the sand with a heavy impact, forming a small hole in the shifting grain. The shield maiden quickly stood up, but held a hand to her ribcage and winced – she could feel the fresh bruise starting the swell in her skin. But instead of being worried about her own injuries, Olive was more concerned about Domino

The blind sniper was kneeling in the sand, breathing heavy as the panic started to build in her chest. She pointed her pistols in every direction, never truly knowing which direction the Hydra was coming from. She remained unaware of the Ancient Grimm slithering slowly upon her from behind, making no sound as it stalked its helpless pray. The Hydra reached its target in absolute silence, lowered its open mouth on either side of Domino's head, and –

"Get out of there!" yelled Stella.

 _ **SNAP!**_

The Hydra's mouth closed like a mouse trap; crimson liquid sprayed the sand in copious amounts as the Ancient Grimm swallowed the lump of flesh in one gulp. Olive came down from the mountain with her hands concealing her mouth in a short gasp, Honey climbed her way up with dumbfounded stare…and Domino massaged the side of her head from where Stella punched her out of the way. Stella Stratos looked down at space where her right arm used to be, but was instead a gaping wound with blood spilling out like a waterfall.

Normal people would have screamed their heads off, broke down crying, and give up on everything in life (You know who you are). But with Stella…

"Hey, that was my second favorite arm!" Stella scolded the Hydra, shaking her phantom limb. "You think arms can just grow back?"

"Wait, can it grow back?" asked Domino curiously.

"Well…yeah," Stella answered, shrugging her shoulders. "But it takes hours and it reaaaally hurts! It's like pins and needles all the ti – OOH, there it goes."

New flesh crawled over the open wound, stopping the flow of blood. Domino looked down at the stump – her Semblance could let her see the flow of aura actively working like a storm in her limb.

"You are by far the strangest thing here, Stratos," said Domino bluntly.

Before Stella could get in a word of argument, the both of them were brought back to the situation as the Hydra raised itself high above the battlefield and let out an earsplitting roar, making Domino cringe. Honey and Olive quickly joined them, forming a line facing against the Hydra. Just as they were ready to face down the Hydra alone, Stella noticed that both parties led by Nebula and Grayson were starting to make their way over to them. The one-armed regenerating Huntress let out a sigh of relief – they must have taken out their respective heads, meaning they had two less problems to worry about.

"Cheers, Stel, the cavalries here!" shouted Nebula, waving her hand freely.

"We are here to support you!" said Grayson.

"Oh, thank Oum, back up's arrived," said Honey relieved. "Now we can take this Grimm out no problem."

"Wait…," said Domino slowly. "Do you feel that?"

Stella, Honey, and Olive looked to their blind teammate in confusion, not really understanding the question…not until they felt the ground rumble beneath them. It was very quick and struck without warning, but the entirety of Mt. Sable began to shudder violently beneath their feet. The foreigners confused the rumbling for a quake, but those who were born and raised in Vacuo knew that a quake in the desert was a very rare and nearly impossible scenario. While Stella and her teammates steadied themselves, both Nebula's and Grayson's tripped over themselves and collapsed. It was at that moment where the mountain side exploded outwards, nearly burying all the present Huntsmen in a sand avalanche. The twelve students managed to hold out until the sand wave passed over them and turned back to the Hydra….The first words that left Stella's mouth were:

"Aw, crap."

The Hydra's bulky, blacks-scaled upper body had finally emerged from within the mountain and with it's a pair of thick, heavily muscled arms with four sets of razor white claws on each hand. The Hydra snarled as it raised its right hand and slammed it down on top of Grayson's team, trapping them in a cage made by the monster's nails. The Ancient Grimm raised its left hand and brought it down on top of Nebula's group, similarly capturing them within its nails. When its prisoners tried to stand, the Hydra pushed down and pressed them deeper into the sand with its wide palms.

"Stel, the cavalry needs rescuing!" yelled Nebula.

"We're trapped under here!" called Grayson "It's all up to you now!"

"That's just great," said Stella exasperatedly. "On top of having to deal with a thirty-foot, twelve hundred pound Grimm, now we have to rescue everyone before they get crushed to death."

"Does anyone 'ave a plan, 'cause I'm not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed," said Honey.

"Damn it," Domino cursed. "If only I could see where to hit. I have a detonator round that I know would kill that ugly son of a bitch. But there's no aura – I'm blind in more ways than one."

"If only it had aura…," said Stella, humming thoughtfully. She looked slowly to her right side to Olive and her eyes fell down to the glowing green shield latched to her arm. "Hey, Domino, you can see Olive's weapon, right?"

"That thing's lousy with aura – it's like a lighthouse in the middle of the ocean," said Domino. "Why?"

"Okay, this might be a long shot, but it's the only idea I've got," said Stella, turning and grabbing the blind sniper by the shoulders. "Domino, I need you to be able to trust me. When tell you when to shoot, you do it, okay?"

"All right," said Domino strangely.

"Olive," Stella turned to the shield maiden. "I want you to throw your shield at the Hydra's face. I don't want you to attack the Hydra directly, just let your shield face by."

"Oh, I see," said Olive, suddenly realizing what her leader's plan. "Since Domino can see Spring Lotus, you want me to throw it in front of the Hydra so that Domino can follow it with her Semblance. Then when you give the word, Domino can take the shot and destroy the Hydra."

"Exactly," Stella confirmed.

"Not a bad plan, but what's stopping the Hydra from moving out of the way?" asked Domino.

"Leave that ta me!" yelled Honey.

Without a word to the rest of her team, the Bear Faunus dashed up the side of the mountain after the Ancient Grimm with a roaring battle cry. The Hydra screeched before it lunged it forward, being unable to use its hands without releasing its prisoners. The Ancient Grimm moved much faster once the rest of its body had been unrestrained, but Honey immediately activated her Semblance and surrounded herself in a flash of yellow aura. The tall Huntress leapt into the air over the Hydra's head and practically flew up the mountain as if she weighed less than a feather. Honey glided along the Hydra's neck until she reached the base where the neck joined with the rest of the body and activated her Semblance again in a flash of yellow aura. The Bear Faunus dropped like a sack of brick, slamming her feet on the Hydra's back with such force that the monster's skin rippled underneath its feet. The Hydra wailed and its head stretched to the sky – Honey quickly wrapped her arms around the Grimm's wide neck and enveloped it in a strong (pun intended) bear hug. The Hydra tilted its head down and started to curl back toward Honey, but the Bear Faunus increased her weight again and increased the strength in her hold, forcing the Hydra's neck to go stiff.

"I can't hold this thing for much longer!" yelled Honey. "If you're gonna take the shot, do it."

Further down the mountain slope, Domino joined her pistols into its rifle form and dropped down to one knee as Olive pulled back her arm, ready to throw her shield at the word. Stella dropped her cannon on the ground next to them and settled her one good hand gently on Domino's shoulder; the blind sniper visibly relaxed at the touch.

"Ready for this?" asked Stella.

"No, but I have a reputation to keep," said Domino, only half joking.

"All right," said Stella. She took a deep breath, looked to Olive, and said: "Now!"

Olive took a single step forward, raised her aura shield in a wide arc, and sent Spring Lotus flying freely through the air. The shield curved beautifully around the air while Domino traced the weapon's path with the barrel of her rifle -

"Hold it," Stella whispered in Domino's ear.

Spring Lotus glided past the Hydra's lower lip –

"Hold it…."

It flew past the monster's fangs –

"Hold it…."

It passed over the Hydra's cracked bone mask –

"FIRE!" Stella shouted.

Domino pulled the trigger.

The specialized bullet exited the barrel with a crackling _**bang**_ , cutting a clean path through the sand choked air, sailing perfectly through the small cracks in the center of the Hydra's mask, and piercing through its dark flesh. The Ancient Grimm visibly stiffened before, without warning, the back of the Hydra's skull exploded in a plume of orangish-red flames. There was no overly dramatic display or exaggerated death noises. With the third and final head slain, the Hydra faded away in a cloud of dark mists, leaving no evidence of its existence other than the massive hole in the side of the mountain.

The members of Nebula's and Grayson's team felt equal parts relief and disbelief as the Hydra's claws faded around them. Relief coming from knowing that they were not going to be crushed to death, and disbelief that they – twelve newly inducted students – had just defeated one of the most powerful Grimm in all of Remnant. This would normally be a time for celebration, but after everything they had just been through, everyone – especially the members of Stella's team – just dropped to the ground and refused to get up.

"I wanna die," Nebula whined.

"After all we went through, you better not," Stella grumbled.

"Someone wake me up in an hour…or three week," said Grayson tiredly.

And just like that, one by one, exhaustion took them over and they all drifted off into peaceful slumber.

"Aw, they look so cute," Headmistress Blanche gushed, looking down on her twelve new students from the top of the mountain. "They did a surprisingly good job against the Hydra if I say so myself. What do you think, Sinclair?"

"I think they were lucky that the Hydra was only in its infant stage," said Sinclair disapprovingly as he pushed up his glasses. "It was very reckless of you to revive that Grimm, knowing that it would put the students in danger. What would you have done if they had failed to slay the Hydra and allowed it to escape into the city?"

"We both know I wouldn't have let it get that far," said Headmistress Blanche knowingly. She bounced up to her feet and raised her arms, stretching. "Mmmm…well, that just about does it for the test. Let's get everyone back to the school so that we can pick teams."

"I know you aren't intending to leave Mt. Sable in its current state, ma'am," said Sinclair in the tone of an authoritative parent. "This is your mess, after all. I expect you to clean it up."

"Ugh, fine," groaned Headmistress Blanche. She pulled out her pocket watch and traced her thumb over the button. "Here's six seconds of my life I'll never get back."

 **CLICK!**

* * *

It was many hours of traveling back to Shade Academy and taking the time to recuperate from the day's harrowing events, but they were finally here: the team selections.

When the announcement went out for all current students to meet in the amphitheater for team selections, more than half of the auditorium had been taken by hundreds of people. While their upperclassmen took up the space in the back of the amphitheater, dutifully and respectfully remaining silent as Headmistress Blanche presented her speech on stage, the surviving initiates stood in two straight lines closer to the stage with their arms straight at their sides and their head held proudly. The second line consisted of every student that had passed the academies test, but the first line was reserved for those who had been recognized as team leaders. Among them was Stella Stratos, who felt pride welling in her chest and pins and needles in her stubby arm (the limb had mostly grown back and only had to develop the fingers). The aspiring archaeologist turned her head to the left, smiling at Nebula and Grayson, both of whom had also been recognized as team leaders.

The headmistress concluded her speech, the audience applauded politely, and they jumped straight into the team selections. The first one to be called up had been the pink-haired girl from earlier, Freesia de Fluer. The selection process was very simple: you walk up on stage, say the names of the people you want on your team, and you get a team name. Pretty easy, right? But the difficult part was making sure your team was the proper match and not picking people based on personal biased. It was a good thing both her and Nebula were team leaders, Stella thought, otherwise they might have ended up choosing each other.

Freesia ended up selecting a gloomy-looking boy with slick purple hair that covered half his face and pair of twins (one male, one female) dressed in yellow monk robes with serious expressions. Freesia did glance in Stella's direction more than once and her face turned as pink as her hair each time. Stella hadn't realized it before because they were in the heat of battle, but she had a suspicion that Freesia may have a crush on her. Nebula certainly seemed to notice, elbowing her best friends with a playful girl.

"Looks like someone has an admirer," said Nebula teasingly.

"Shut up," grumbled Stella, looking down in embarrassment.

"Freesia de Fleur," Headmistress Blnche spoke softly, but her voice seemed to carry across the auditorium. "You have selected Aster Wood, Ulex Theravāda, and Senna Theravāda. From this day forward, you shall be known as Team FUSA (Fuchsia)! May you bonds be strong and may you have good fortune in the coming battles."

The students applauded politely as the newly formed Team FUSA stepped down and joined the rest of their classmates in the audiences. As they passed the team leaders, Freesia smiled at Stella with a shy little wave, only furthering the short woman's embarrassment as Nebula cheekily poked fun at her.

"Grayson Stone, please step forward!" Headmistress Blanche called. The mountain-sized miner nodded in acknowledgment, climbed up the small set of stairs, and stood before the school chief that barely came up to his kneecaps. "Grayson Stone, you are asked to choose among those present to join your side in the war against Grimm and injustice. Have you made your selection?"

"I have, ma'am," said Grayson politely. "I choose Rory Al, Nila Wright, and Tawny Birch."

The three chosen Huntsmen soon joined their friend on stage. Grayson and Rory fist bumped, Tawny smiled placidly, and Nila rolled her eyes at the three.

"Grayson Stone," said Headmistress Blanche. "You have selected Nila Wright, Tawny Birch, and Rory Al. From this day forward, you shall be known as Team GRNT (Granite)! May you bonds be strong and may you have good fortune in the coming battles."

Once again, the students applauded as the Team GRNT stepped down and joined the rest of the school.

"Nebula Violette, please step forward!" Headmistress Blanche requested. Nebula grinned and practically bounced onto the stage the moment her name was called. "Nebula Violette, you are asked to choose among those present to join your side in the war against Grimm and injustice. Have you made your selection?"

"You bet I have," said Nebula excitedly. "Dew Gayl, Octavia Ember, and Gwen Darcy, get your butts up here!"

"Do you have to make a show of this?" Dew chastised her leader when stepping on stage.

"Yep," said Nebula, popping the 'p' with her lips. Octavia and Gwen laughed among themselves.

"Nebula Violette," said Headmistress Blanche. "You have selected Gwen Darcy, Dew Gayl, and Octavia. From this day forward, you shall be known as Team NDGO (Indigo). May you bonds be strong and may you have good fortune in the coming battles."

Team NDGO walked down from the stage to the applause of the school, to which Nebula took an exaggerated bow; Dew slapped her over the head with a disapproving stare and pushed her team leader forward. When they passed, Nebula turned to Stella and offered her a confident grin and a thumbs-up before disappearing into the crowd.

"Stella Stratos, please step forward!" shouted Headmistress Blanche.

The aspiring archaeologist took a deep, cleansing breath, straightened her stance, and marched up the stairs with what she hoped looked like a dignified appearance. This was the moment Stella had been preparing for. She had thought long and hard in the time between the Mt. Sable incident and returning to Shade Academy, going over every variable and planning out possible consequences of her choices. Some may say that she was being overly cautious, but Stella just wanted to make it work – she wanted to have a team she knew she could trust and work with in spite of their differences. That's why she had chosen her three very carefully. And before she knew it, Stella was standing across from the school's headmistress under the intense spotlight from above. The headmistress didn't immediately ask the question like she did for the others, but offered her a kind smile that made Stella feel somewhat relieved.

"Stella Stratos," said Headmistress Blanche after a long pause of silence. "You are asked to choose among those present to join your side in the war against Grimm and injustice. Have you made your selection?"

"Yes, I have," said Stella. "I've thought long and hard about this, and I've decided there are no other people that I would rather fight alongside with, people with whom I would trust my life to…. I have chosen Honey Malaya…Olive Evergreen…and Domino Bones."

Their names had barely left her lips before the three suddenly appeared on either side of Stella. It had seemed that they all were thinking the same thing. Honey gave a wide, toothy grin as she ruffled with her leader's hair while Olive giggled politely behind her hand. Even Domino managed a small smile that wasn't flirtatious or lustful (which, she would tell them later, was very difficult for someone like her). Once again, Headmistress Blanche paused for a few seconds longer than any of the other teams, taking a moment to…admire them, if that was the right term for it.

"Stella Stratos," said Headmistress Blanche. "You have selected Domino Bones, Honey Malaya, and Olive Evergreen. From this day forward, you shall be known as Team SHDO (Shadow). May you bonds be strong and may you have good fortune in the coming battles." She nodded to the newly established team as they walked off the stage to join their new schoolmates. "I have a feeling this is going to be…a very interesting four years."

* * *

 **Once again, I would like to humbly apologize for being late on this and possibly not living up to everyone's expectations. What with school and life in general, it so much easier to write an already established story like Kingdom RWBY rather than having to write everything original. But I am not giving this up. I plan to continue this for a long as possible, if not for my sake, then for the sake of all of you who put in the effort of making great characters for this story.**

 **Anyway, next chapter will finally get into some deeper world building as we explore Shade Academy, learn about their classes, meet the teachers (including Stella's father and her wallet full of embarrassing baby pictures) and meet the last of the protagonists, Team MYNT.**

 **Until next time, please read and review.**


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